BANDWIDTH PROTECTION
One unfortunate aspect of hotlinking is that it
results in additional bandwidth consumption.
If a file is hotlinked from a popular page that
happens to be a hot topic, then traffic spikes
can result. This additional load usually brings
no benefit to the victim site. Furthermore, it
degrades the user experience, increases stress
on the server and increases bandwidth costs.
At some point, it becomes sensible to control
these effects by implementing hotlink controls.
CONTENT PROTECTION
Sites hosting paid content are often targets of
hotlinking attempts. Many sites are well aware
of these attempts and have implemented hotlinking
controls because failing to do so can result in
massive revenue leakage in addition to the bandwidth
costs. These sites are likely well aware of the
limitations of many conventional control schemes.
Sites wanting the ultimate in hotlink protection
should consider the robust browser independent
technologies employed by ColdLink.
CONTENT INTEGRITY
Sites depending on the presentation of their
content in context should be aware of the
effects of hotlinking. An example would be
informational sites which are tied to
affiliate revenue programmes. Revenues are
directly tied to the ability to present links
to their sales partners on the page containing
the content. If the content is hotlinked out of
context, then there is no opportunity to present
the sales links. Every hotlink is a lost sales
opportunity. It's just good business to ensure
that hotlinking is stopped.