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Something like this thread appears on most of the webmaster boards about once week.
Lots of .htaccess solutions get posted, and everyone seems happy that they fixed the problem, which says to me it's not much of a problem.
.htaccess will deter the average surfer who posts your image links on surfer boards, and for that reason .htaccess is usually good enough, but the way the http protocol works it can be gotten around, and I don't think there is a .htaccess solution to the problem.
Someone may prove me wrong on this, in which case, good!
In any case the bigger problem is in protecting video files, as WindowsMediaPlayer sends a blank referrer ( I don't know if they changed this in the last few months, but at least when I looked at it that seemed the case ).
As I say I don't think it is a big problem, people just get hot under the collar because they got Fuskered. When it happened to me I just asked them to stop it and they did, which seems the easiest solution to me.
There are ways to stop hotlinking without .htaccess. There are packages on the market ( I don't know if they really work ), or your host will do it ( but they may charge a monthly fee ).
There are some scripting methods that will prevent hotlinking if it REALLY is an issue, but best not post these on a board.
.htaccess is "good enough".
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