FAQs

How do I password protect directories?

You may find that you need to protect certain directories within your site.

Non-FrontPage Users, e.g. UNIX/Linux Servers
If you know how to use your shell access, this can be done using an .htaccess file in the respective directory and the htpasswd program. Here's how:

Log into the server with telnet or SSH.

Change directories to the directory you wish to protect and create a file called .htaccess which contains the following lines:

order allow,deny
allow from all
require valid-user
Authname DirectoryName
Authtype Basic
AuthUserFile /path/to/authfile

If you are on one of our RaQ servers, you will need to add the following line:
AuthPAM_Enabled off

The AuthUserFile should point to a file in the which contains a list of users and their encrypted password strings. This file is created with the htpasswd program. In order to create this file, run the following commands in a telnet session from within the directory where you wish to create the file:

/usr/bin/htpasswd -c /path/to/authfile $USERNAME

You will be prompted for a password, and then prompted again to verify.

If the htpasswd file already exists, omit the "-c" from the command indicated above, otherwise it will create a *fresh* file, overwriting all your previous UserName/Password entries.

FrontPage Users
We recommend reviewing your FrontPage documentation and help system, or consult the Microsoft FrontPage site for further details.

We Can Do It for You
Protecting directories is not a trivial task. If you prefer to have us do this for you, contact us at 1 (877) 459-6709 to discuss your requirements.