# my first troy oz button



## necromancer (Aug 9, 2012)

this is 2 seperate buttons made into one,

i would (once again) like to thank glondor for his fine workmanship & hard work

(_Thanks Buddy_)

and thank you to all the members of this forum, it was all of you who started me "getting the gold out"
and not simply selling all my scrap


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## glorycloud (Aug 9, 2012)

A beauty, eh! Nicely done! 8)


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## Rodthrower18 (Aug 9, 2012)

Absolutely gorgeous!! I aim to have one like that in the future. What was your scrap source? How much of it ? Again that baby is sure pretty 8)


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## patnor1011 (Aug 9, 2012)

Very nice work. I would like to point to one thing. Lately we were discussing that many of processes, threads, guides and pictures being downloaded from here and used on ebay and such. Why give a thief a hand? We should start thinking and for start at least watermarking pictures which we upload here.
In Adobe photoshop simply open picture - select text tool - write text - highlight text - go to Layer - Layer style - Blending options. 
Select say 50% then press ok. File - save as - select new name and save as *jpeg. In windows Paint - just place text through picture, choose some mild colour. Whatever text you put in, make it through part of button. At least you can be sure that you will not find your picture on ebay where some crook will be telling world that he made that button out of plating from special edition of dog food can.


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## patnor1011 (Aug 9, 2012)

I know I know...
It may make picture not that attractive but one day you may be sorry you did not do that. You can always keep unaltered original in your computer. :twisted:


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## joem (Aug 9, 2012)

I now post my website into my button photos on ebay ( and credits to glondor - he took them) It's a limited security but hey anything helps.


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## necromancer (Aug 9, 2012)

thank you, i was thinking about the watermark, but.......

its a great photo that i want the people of the GRF to enjoy

as for the people or the persons that are taking everyones info and photos

EDIT (%#[email protected] (&*^ #[email protected]%)

the above is very nasty wording

i am hoping that the said person/persons get there comeupance

come·up·pance/kəˈməpəns/
Noun: A punishment or fate that someone deserves


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## samuel-a (Aug 9, 2012)

Here's a free online watermark tool. http://www.watermark.ws/
It is the best i could find. It is very limited and doesn't even work at times as they want you to buy their "full" service. But still good enough for me as i don't have photoshop.

Here's a sample i did with it earlier:


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## Joeforbes (Aug 9, 2012)

Amazing button necromancer, very good work!


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## joem (Aug 9, 2012)

of course I forgot to say: 
Great job


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## Anonymous (Aug 9, 2012)

patnor1011 said:


> Very nice work. I would like to point to one thing. Lately we were discussing that many of processes, threads, guides and pictures being downloaded from here and used on ebay and such. Why give a thief a hand? We should start thinking and for start at least watermarking pictures which we upload here.
> In Adobe photoshop simply open picture - select text tool - write text - highlight text - go to Layer - Layer style - Blending options.
> Select say 50% then press ok. File - save as - select new name and save as *jpeg. In windows Paint - just place text through picture, choose some mild colour. Whatever text you put in, make it through part of button. At least you can be sure that you will not find your picture on ebay where some crook will be telling world that he made that button out of plating from special edition of dog food can.


There are different levels of watermarks, and the watermark that you have I can easily reproduce it and wipe away any evidence of it even being yours, and then simply rotate the image and (or) distort it in many different ways.... using Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro.. etc..

What you will want is an "invisible" watermark".... one in which the naked eye can't/won't see, but it'll be tagged with your information. I haven't done watermarking lately, but there is a service I believe through Paint Shop Pro.. (maybe even Photoshop) where you can watermark your image and upload it to the Internet and if someone uses the image(s), you'll be notified. The principle is the same as "Copyscape.com." Any text that you have on the Internet that is rightfully yours, you can go to Copyscape.com, then enter the URL you want to check (one of your web pages) and it will take about 5 seconds or maybe less, and it'll give the URL's of 10 websites that have your same exact wording. A paid version would give you more results though.

Anyway, the same principle is applied to images. Images are marked with special coding and invisible information that the average "Joe" wouldn't know to look for.

You can easily put your name, email address, phone no#, practically any bit of information in your images and if they get used online, you can easily track the culprits down. And guess what?.... many of them wouldn't even have a clue as to how you found out they stole your image(s).

So, all in all, just placing text/watermarks on your images won't and don't protect your images to say the least. One way to stop thieves from stealing anything from your web stop (or at least deter them) is to place a "Copyscape" banner on your website. It really works. You can even go as far as saying that your images have "invisible watermarks" too. If they see Copyscape on your website, I'm confident they'll believe you about the images if you mention it.

Kevin


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## goldenchild (Aug 9, 2012)

It's really a shame that it has come to this. Watermarking seems to be becoming a necessary evil with the slew of digital theft that has been going on around here. Nice button necromancer. It looks edible 8)


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## Anonymous (Aug 9, 2012)

goldenchild said:


> It's really a shame that it has come to this. Watermarking seems to be becoming a necessary evil with the slew of digital theft that has been going on around here. Nice button necromancer. It looks edible 8)


That's true. I would ask the person for their permission to use their image and (or) compensate them for doing so. More than likely if you mention giving them something, they'll be more than likely happy to allow you to use their images.

Kevin


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## patnor1011 (Aug 10, 2012)

That program might be good if they copy and paste. Is it working with screen caption programs too? I mean if they just grab picture or part of it from screen then what? Altering or erasing text on picture as I did is time consuming, good to go with one picture, bad idea on 40. :?


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## joem (Aug 10, 2012)

Since my cameraphone takes pictures about 34 inches wide I need to reduce down to photo size so I can post here and elsewhere properly. Adding text is just another step I now accept.


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## samuel-a (Aug 10, 2012)

testerman 

From your experience, How hard will it be to erase this watermark and then make use this image?



I know it's not bullet proof, but i'm acting under the assumption that most people who copy others work are just too lazy...


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## ericrm (Aug 10, 2012)

i think you should put your name on more than one place to avoid that someone just put something else over your name...
the best to my idea would be to do something like you did in translucide caracter but all over the picture


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## necromancer (Aug 10, 2012)

will every post with pictures be hijacked by (you need security)

this post was all about "me" and "my pretty button" LOL

why dont the admin make a sub-forum for tried & true members.
in that sub-form members that have paid there dues may post anything
and in this part of the forum you may only post text up to a max of 1,000 words.

then before you post you must submit a retina scan, thum print & urin sample. scan of your passport & first born child ?????


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## ericrm (Aug 10, 2012)

lol, real sorry, i forgot how all proud we are with our first one, well let me say it too, you made yourself a real nice button there and i hope you many more 8)


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## samuel-a (Aug 10, 2012)

necromancer 


Please accept my apology.

You are well deserved this thread and your button does look amazing. Judging by the crystallization on the surface , it seems of high purity indeed.


I'll (try) keep myself from mentioning this subject in unrelated topics. 8)


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## jmdlcar (Aug 10, 2012)

necromancer said:


> this is 2 seperate buttons made into one,
> 
> i would (once again) like to thank glondor for his fine workmanship & hard work
> 
> ...



Your button looks great. Nice Job.


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## Anonymous (Aug 13, 2012)

samuel-a said:


> testerman
> 
> From your experience, How hard will it be to erase this watermark and then make use this image?
> 
> ...


Not hard at all. What a person can do is a color replacer and (or) a clone copy of part of an image and clone it in the area you want it to be in. I'll do the image just to show you. Now remember, it may be different, but it's still YOUR image. 

The best way to put an invisible watermark on your images is to simply zoom in to the max size, then place some 1x1 pixel images, with a letter or such in each one, then combine them in the grids where the original part of the image was at. In other words, you can write out anything you want and it'll be right in everyone's face without them knowing it. Since you can hide a pixel anywhere in any image, it'll be humanly impossible to find it, and especially if you don't know what to look for.

I used to do computer security consultations a few years ago here on the Internet, but my headstones business took off better than I expected and so I've been fully dedicated to that. But, stealing images online is so common, yet there are ways around it.

*No#1.* Tag all your images you don't want stolen. Tagging images is simply using a program like Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro or other programs and when you go to "Image Information", there is usually 2 or more tabs of information you can fill in about that image. Basically, you can put anything you want in those areas to identify your images.
*
No#2.* Use a "No Image Leeching" program/script. What it is, is a script that you place on your website and if someone tries to copy/paste your images it will save the file, but it'll be a blank image. There are programs that will not allow the image to save at all, programs that will give error messages if someone tries to save the images, some programs where if they save the images the images will be approximately a 1x1 pixel.... too small to use anywhere.
*
No#3.* Get a Copyscape banner and put on your website.... Hint to the forum moderators.

*No#4.* Use watermarks that are slightly visible, yet, the color of the watermark is so off, if the watermark gets erased, it'll actually erase part of the image itself, rendering it useless.

Maybe the moderators can start a forum here on "*Security*" of your precious metals, images and other aspects of what the theme of this forum is about. But a Copyscape banner will give notice to everyone letting them know that stealing ANYTHING from this website and redistributing it WILL get you into a lot of trouble, if, and when caught.

Oh, and one more thing, even if someone changes the name and or size of your image and use it online, you can still track it down. It's basically where within the image you place your watermark(s).

[necromancer] This thread is supposed to be dedicated to your prized piece and I'm sorry for my posts/replies here. Your button does look great and you've done an excellent job in constructing it. All hats go off to you. 8) . Let's leave this thread as it was intended and pick up on the security in another thread.

All due respect to you necromancer.

Kevin


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