Directory Protection

Here you can protect individual directories with passwords. First create one or more users, assign them to a new profile (password list). Then you can protect a directory under «Protected Directories» by assigning a profile. You can also protect a directory without assigning a profile to it – in this case access will be completely blocked (Require all denied).

Thanks to our directory protection manager you don't need any basic knowledge in Apache: Authentication and Authorization resp. HTTP Basic Auth (.htaccess).

Protected Directories

Create a new directory protection using the "+ Protect Directory " button. Please make sure that when directory protection is enabled all sub-directories are also protected. So if you define a directory protection on e.g. /www/secure, you don't need to create an additional protection for /www/secure/images, because this directory is already implicitly protected by the first directory protection.

Directories can only be protected within the web root (within /public_html), since only these files are publicly available. The protectable directory tree includes the main domain (www) as well as all configured subdomains. If you have trouble with the default directory structure, please consult our Support Wiki > Directory Structure.

• Directory: Clicking on the input field will open the directory structure of your web server. Select the folder you want to protect.
• Message (AuthName): This is the message that is displayed in the browser when the user is prompted for a password. A message is always required. You can also just use something like «Private», «VIPs only!», «This directory is protected.» ... to give you some examples.
• Type:
  • If you choose "Deny Access" without specifying a profile (password list), the directory and all subdirectories will be completely locked and no one will have access to it.
  • If you choose "Password Protect ", you can select one of your profiles (password lists). This will make the directory and all subdirectories accessible only to users with a valid password.

Please note that only one profile can be selected for password protection. However, the same user can be assigned to different profiles.

Profiles (Password Lists)

By a profile (password list) we mean a group of users. After creating a profile, it can be assigned to one or more protected directories. A profile may also remain empty, i.e. you can create an empty profile by only giving it a name but not yet assigning any users. This doesn't make much sense, but it helps you to set up the profiles in advance and assign them to protected directories if necessary, before assigning the corresponding users to the profile.

Note that a protected directory with password protection always requires a profile. A single user cannot be assigned directly to a protected directory!

Users

Here you can create users with a password. For existing users you can change the username and/or password. The username must be written in lowercase and may only contain the following characters: a-z0-9_-. (alphanumeric with underscore, hyphen or dot).

Users must be assigned to one or more profiles so that they can be used for password protection of a protected directory.

Our password requirements:

• Minimum length: 10 characters
• The password must contain at least 1 number (0-9)
• The password must contain at least 1 lower case letter (a-z)
• The password must contain at least 1 upper case letter (A-Z) or a special character
• The password must have a minimum complexity according to the Zxcvbn algorithm and must not be compromised.