Title: [Plugin: Houdini] View source?
Last modified: August 19, 2016

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# [Plugin: Houdini] View source?

 *  [queue3](https://wordpress.org/support/users/queue3/)
 * (@queue3)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/)
 * Out of curiosity, does this actually interfere with content stealers just going
   to View – Page Source and copying everything that way?
 * [http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/houdini/](http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/houdini/)

Viewing 13 replies - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)

 *  [hatkirby](https://wordpress.org/support/users/hatkirby/)
 * (@hatkirby)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359809)
 * No, it doesn’t. You can also circumvent it by disabling JavaScript, writing a
   screen scraper, using the RSS feed or pressing the Print Screen key. (I wrote
   about this on my blog at [http://fourisland.com/blog/and-like-magic-nothing-happens/](http://fourisland.com/blog/and-like-magic-nothing-happens/)
   but the post will not be available until 12:30 EST tomorrow)
 *  [dgw](https://wordpress.org/support/users/voyagerfan5761/)
 * (@voyagerfan5761)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359873)
 * Yes, I was just thinking the same thing. Any plugin referring to a “little known
   JavaScript algorithm” can’t be too effective. Copying isn’t usually done manually
   anyway; indeed, scrapers and robots take care of most of it.
 * I look forward to your post, hatkirby. I think I’ll write one of my own and compare
   notes with you.
 * Also posting a new topic titled “Plugin is useless”.
 *  [PressPage Entertainment Inc](https://wordpress.org/support/users/phkcorp2005/)
 * (@phkcorp2005)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359879)
 * The Tips & Techniques show how to prevent view source context memu from popping
   up.
 *  [PressPage Entertainment Inc](https://wordpress.org/support/users/phkcorp2005/)
 * (@phkcorp2005)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359881)
 * Thanks for the comments and the rating!
 *  [hatkirby](https://wordpress.org/support/users/hatkirby/)
 * (@hatkirby)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359908)
 * [@phkcorp2005](https://wordpress.org/support/users/phkcorp2005/) The source code
   of a website can be viewed in other ways than right clicking on the screen. Plus,
   whatever JavaScript you are using to disable the context menu will also be bypassed
   if the page is rendered in a JavaScript-free environment like the text-based 
   browser [lynx](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynx_(web_browser)). Lastly, you 
   will severely annoy your visitors if you disable the context menu. Trust me.
 * [@voyagerfan5761](https://wordpress.org/support/users/voyagerfan5761/) My post
   is out now. It’s just a little rant on the subject but feel free to read it if
   you wish.
 *  [PressPage Entertainment Inc](https://wordpress.org/support/users/phkcorp2005/)
 * (@phkcorp2005)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359918)
 * You’re right! Disabling the context menu can annoy users and Houdini does not
   do this, in the Tips & Technique page shows you how. Remember that most users
   do not use the context menu, and those users that do most likely use to look 
   at your source code. Do you want to give access to your source code? Only you
   can answer that question, Houdini just provides information and a tool to further
   secure your web pages.
 * Keep the comments coming!
 *  [hatkirby](https://wordpress.org/support/users/hatkirby/)
 * (@hatkirby)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359919)
 * Um, what? Do I want to give access to my source code? Public access to a webpage’s
   source code is a fundamental underpinning of the Internet and it’s literally 
   impossible to prevent someone from viewing your source code because the source
   code is required to render the page. It’s not possible to make it so that only
   web browsers can read and render your code.
 * Also, I was not able to find the “Tips & Technique” [sic] page that you are talking
   about.
 *  [dgw](https://wordpress.org/support/users/voyagerfan5761/)
 * (@voyagerfan5761)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359928)
 * [@hatkirby](https://wordpress.org/support/users/hatkirby/): Many thanks for the
   blog post. I enjoyed reading it, and I’m including a short quote or two and a
   couple links to it in my upcoming post.
 * I’d also like to weigh in on the context menu discussion. Many modern browsers(
   such as Firefox) offer options to control what JavaScript code can do. One of
   those options is generally to disable the ability for JS to remove or replace
   the context menu. Just to poke another hole in that theory. 😉
 *  [PressPage Entertainment Inc](https://wordpress.org/support/users/phkcorp2005/)
 * (@phkcorp2005)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359931)
 * The Tip & Technique page is from the Admin login dashboard, Scroll down to the
   Settings menu and look for Houdini, then click on Houdini.
 *  [dgw](https://wordpress.org/support/users/voyagerfan5761/)
 * (@voyagerfan5761)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359932)
 * I swear I used to be able to edit my forum posts on this site… But since I can’t,
   I must add a new post to point to my upcoming blog post at [http://technobabbl.es/2010/01/houdini-plugin-for-wordpress-is-no-magician/](http://technobabbl.es/2010/01/houdini-plugin-for-wordpress-is-no-magician/)
   to be published 2010-01-30T16:00:00 (UTC)
 *  [PressPage Entertainment Inc](https://wordpress.org/support/users/phkcorp2005/)
 * (@phkcorp2005)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359933)
 * The Tip on the Tip & Technique page for disabling the context menu popup has 
   been verified to prevent the context menu from popping up on both Internet Explorer
   and Firefox.
 * Thanks for your comment.
    Keep the comments coming?
 *  [hatkirby](https://wordpress.org/support/users/hatkirby/)
 * (@hatkirby)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359934)
 * [@voyagerfan5761](https://wordpress.org/support/users/voyagerfan5761/) Thanks!
   I look forward to your post too, and not just because you said you liked mine.
   😛 And you are able to edit your posts, but only for a certain amount of time,
   it seems.
 * [@phkcorp2005](https://wordpress.org/support/users/phkcorp2005/) I use Google
   Chrome. How ’bout that? 😛 And I see you have no response to my comment about
   webpage source code.
 * The context menu isn’t the only way to access the source code of a page from 
   a web browser. Even if we disregard the fact that the source code of a webpage
   can be accessed in many, _many_ ways, there is still the fact that, in every 
   major browser, you can view the source of the webpage from a non-context menu.
   In Chrome, it is under the Page menu, in Firefox, View. (I’m not sure about IE
   because I haven’t used it in such a long time) The fact is, disabling the context
   menu is one of the most useless ways to prevent a user from doing something because,
   by definition, the context menu exists solely to make accessing certain commands
   and options easier. There should never be anything in a context menu that isn’t
   invokable from another location such as a non-context menu.
 *  [PressPage Entertainment Inc](https://wordpress.org/support/users/phkcorp2005/)
 * (@phkcorp2005)
 * [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359939)
 * Houdini is only a deterant as so claimed. If you want more security, then you
   need to write your own browser and remove the security holes that already exist,
   then you have to remove the existing browser from your operating system, though
   this is feasibile to do, the problem arises to getting market acceptance and 
   market share or your browser would be useless. A KidSafeWebBrowser was first 
   developed in January 2000 but the project was halted for this vary reason.
 * There are also other wordpress plugins that address security and plagiarism, 
   and though not verified, houdini used in conjuncion with these other plugins 
   is better than using houdini alone. The complexity of the internet presents itself
   to more questions than answers regarding security. Houdini is just another tool
   to use in your arsanal against security breaches.
 * For an analogy, if you live in a neighbor with a higher than normal crime rate,
   would you not want to have extra security on your home by installing additional
   locks or a security alarm system? Is this not the same for your web home?
 * Thanks for your comment.
    Keep your comments coming?

Viewing 13 replies - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)

The topic ‘[Plugin: Houdini] View source?’ is closed to new replies.

 * 13 replies
 * 4 participants
 * Last reply from: [PressPage Entertainment Inc](https://wordpress.org/support/users/phkcorp2005/)
 * Last activity: [16 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-houdini-view-source/#post-1359939)
 * Status: not a support question

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