Piracy Shield Help

Protect your intellectual property with automated scanning and DMCA takedown notices.

Overview Scanning Detections DMCA Notices Workflow

Running Scans

Scans search Google for pirated copies of your books on known piracy domains. Each scan searches for your book title combined with your pen name.

Starting a Manual Scan

  1. Navigate to Piracy Shield from the main menu
  2. Click the New Scan button
  3. Select a published novel from the dropdown
  4. Confirm that Google Search is available
  5. Click Start Scan

Scans run in the background and typically complete within 30-60 seconds. You'll see results appear on the dashboard when done.

Automatic Scanning

Enable auto-scanning for hands-off monitoring:

  1. Go to Piracy Shield → Settings
  2. Enable Auto-scan Published Novels
  3. Set your Scan Frequency to 7, 14, 30, or 60 days
  4. Published novels will be scanned automatically on schedule

Browsing Scan History

Scan History shows 25 scans per page. Use the Previous and Next links below the cards to reach older or newer scan history pages.

What Scans Search For

Each scan generates multiple search queries:

  • "{Book Title}" - Exact title match
  • "{Book Title} {Pen Name}" - Title with author name
  • "{Pen Name} epub pdf" - Author + common piracy file types

Searches are limited to known piracy domains like Z-Library, LibGen, and similar sites.

Pro Tip

Make sure your Pen Name is set in Settings - it significantly improves scan accuracy by matching the name on your book covers.

Scan Status Reference

Status Meaning
Pending Scan is queued and will start shortly
Running Scan is actively searching Google
Completed Scan stopped running - check the result summary to confirm whether every search completed
Failed Scan encountered an error - check error message

Troubleshooting

Scan Failed - "Daily limit reached"

You've used the fixed operational limit of 2 scans for the current calendar day. Wait for the next day before starting another scan.

Scan Completed with 0 Detections

A complete scan with zero detections means Google Search did not return a match for the searches that ran. Zero detections does not confirm that no pirated copy exists. Check the result summary first: if it says the scan was incomplete, retry later.

  • The book is new and hasn't been pirated yet
  • Previous DMCA notices successfully removed listings
  • Piracy sites may use different title variations

Scan Shows "Budget Exhausted"

Search capacity was used up before all queries completed. The displayed findings are partial, so do not treat a zero result as a clean scan. Try again the next day.

Google Search Is Unavailable

The scan form will stop new scans when the provider cannot run. Try again later and contact support if the message continues.

Overview