Hi there. Several days ago I found, that one of my items was published on sites with a nulled scripts. I already sent a DMCA notice to Google, but I’m interesting - how can I protect my items in the future.
I think to add purchase code field to plugin options, that will be required and the plugin will not work without it, but I think it can be easily removed by hackers, that created nulled scripts.
I’m interesting - can I obfuscate code in my plugins? Can items with obfuscated code be approved on CodeCanyon?
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No you are not allowed to obfuscate the code and to be honest if these pirates want to break it then they probably will.
Unfortunately there is only so much that can be done but regular updates etc is a good way of at least being a pain for them
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Everyone’s items are on nulled websites. And you can’t do much about it, other than sending DMCAs, which are a complete waste of time. Focus on providing frequent updates so that the version that is on nulled websites gets outdated, people tend to buy the latest versions.
Also, those who are downloading from nulled websites would probably not pay for it, since they’re looking to get it for free in the first place.
Obfuscating your code would hurt your buyers, and it’s also not allowed.
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Hey borisolhor, I can tell you from an end user perspective - when I first starting diving into the world of wordpress and whatnot a few years ago, before I made any money doing it, I was guilty of downloading nulled scripts. Thought to myself wow, this is awesome, why would anyone pay? Well, I figured out, as I’m sure many others have, that it’s important to pay and reward the authors to incite them to keep creating new content and providing updates and then the fact that the nulled products are infested with little malicious scripts geared at sending out spam or opening backdoors, so there’s that to watch out for. A few years later, now seasoned and an active developer haha, I have purchased over 100 items on codecanyon/themeforest. My point in telling you this, it’s not the end of the world your stuff being put up on nulled sites. It may lead to lifelong customers. It could also definitely help your popularity. Just my thoughts.
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I am from Ghana and I cant pay with paypal, so I am left with no other way to get these files if the author does not accept payment any other way. The only way is to try nulled files, because you need the item for a project and there is no way for you pay for it, though its right there. I think accessibility in payment options will help increase revenue for both authors and envato where as increasing productivity for buyers
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hello @borisolhor , i have initiated discussion on same topic here you can read Combating Nulled and Pirated Scripts Providers: How Can Envato and the Author Community Help? - #7 by corbitaltech
Are you saying you’re using nulled scripts in a public forum? We actually have customers from Ghana who purchase our items, though I’m not sure how they pay—perhaps via card. Have you ever contacted Envato directly about payment options? Using nulled scripts is illegal, but openly admitting to it in a public forum could easily lead to action being taken against your account. I also noticed you have a collector badge on your account—how did you receive that if you haven’t purchased any items?