Do you think that someone is using your uploaded photographs without your permission?
Maybe this search engine will help:
http://tineye.com/login?redirect=/faq

Ari, it's also worth downloading and using a programme like Deep Log Analyzer (free version), it analyses your sites log files and provides very useful information.

One thing you spot quickly is where people on other sites have hotlinked to your images. Most of the hot links are beneficial, often in Blogs or in links pages, andlink back to your own site anyway, but it's quite remarkable how many you can find. Also Google Analytical, and Google Webmaster Tools are useful too.

Over the past 14 years I have found my images on quite a few websites, these have been copied and no reference made to me or my website, so totally illegal use. Depending on the type of site I usually either just ask for a credit & link, or I warn that I will start to take legal action and they get removed immediately.

Ian

Cool. I hope my old computer can run one of these programs.

In the past Ive found many Myspace users Hotllinking to my photos as backgrounds.
Its amazing how much it happens.
I usually dont mind and if I do I will remove it from my server or rename it.

I love when people replace the hotlinked image with one talking about how the person has "stolen" the previous image. Or replaces it with otherwise embarassing material.

To give you an idea what a program like Deep Log Analyzer can do here's a screenshot. This shows referrals from PUG to my site, and shows clearly where from.
http://www.lostlabours.co.uk/Uploads/screenshot.jpg
It gives all the search engine referrals in detail, as well as the search strings used to find your site.

Interestingly it shows repeated current attempts to access a Guestbook I disabled & renamed 3 or more years ago, and also attempts to spam the current guestbook. We are talking about 16.6% of all visits to the site. When I look at the error log the attempts to spam the guestbook show just how huge a problem there really is as it's in the 200-300 per day, and over 80% are from the US. The US won't police spam from there as they say it's enshrined in the Constitution - the rights to free speech. Didn't stop McCarthy though :-)

I've been trying the sire Ari links to but as you have to enter each image manually it's very slow. Needs batch processing.

Ian

Is that program Windows-only?

I think so.

Just checked yes. I've found a lot of others but none remotely as good, for free. In theory it's easy to write a database and import the logs, then write the relevant queries.

Ian

Anything for Linux?

Not looked, my Linux machine is in the UK. My guess is this may run using WINE, but it's using a lot of Microsoft proprietary code & a Microsoft database.

Just run Windows on top of Linux, should be fine then :-)

Ian

Well, I do have Wine and I also dual boot (to play a game once in a while and print CDs with the Canon inkjet), but I try to stay away from MS land as much as I can.
There must be some OSS tool to do that.
Do you know if Google Analytics would help?

Anyway, I think we're off the track! I wanted to share the engine with you guys and feel like crossing into dangerous waters discussing computer matters in APUG. :)
Thanks Ian though.