limiting access to directories of a web server with .htaccess files

Enabling access or not is governed by the module which can be disabled at compile time with --disable-access.

Thats' the first step. The second step is to generate passwords for your users. These passwords are put in a special database. You can also have a group password file where you make passwords for the group. Also, you need then place a .htaccess file which you need to type by hand.

1. httpd.conf

   Also, the httpd.conf has to be set up to allow the .htaccess to work with the following sample configuration setup:

      <Directory /var/www/cgi-bin>
         AllowOverride All
         Options ExecCGI
         Order allow,deny
         Allow from all
      </Directory>
   

   The 'allowoverride' specifies that .htaccess files can grant permission. If it instead were given the value none, nobody could get access if a .htaccess file were present in the directory listing.

2. the .htaccess file
   The .htaccess file is created with vi or another editor and is along the lines of the following samples:
   1. sample one

      <LIMIT GET POST>
      order deny,allow
      deny from all
      allow from none
      </LIMIT>
      ErrorDocument 403 http://www.xav.com/scripts/installer/datadeny.html
      

   2. sample two

      AuthType Basic
      AuthName UofL
      AuthUserFile /www/docs/www/htpasswd
      AuthGroupFile /dev/null
      require user khhagaz1
      

   3. sample three

      Now ppC++ installer will try to add some information for Apache into the file .htaccess if it exists (if no, it will be created automatically). Anyway, if you will not find a file .htaccess inside the "/var/www/" or you will not find this info there:
      

      Action ppc-script /ppc/run.cgi
      AddHandler ppc-script .ppc
      

   4. sample four

      AuthName "Basic Authentication Tutorial 1"
      AuthType Basic
      AuthUserFile /home/w/e/web/.htpasswd
      require valid-user
      

      Then, create a password for khhagaz1 with the htpasswd command.

   permissions on the .htaccess file should be 644

3. htpasswd

   htpasswd -c /usr/local/etc/passwords username

   you cannot simply create a flat file apparently

   the -c flag is only used when creating the file

   htpasswd /usr/local/etc/passwords username2

   if as in this example the -c flag is not specified, the user will be added to the file instead of clobbering the file with the password