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#80 Managing Apache Passwords

One terrific feature of the Apache web server is that it offers built-in support for password-protected directories, even on a shared public server. It's a great way to have private, secure, and limited-access information on your website, whether you have a pay subscription service or you just want to ensure that family pictures are viewed only by family.

Standard configurations require that in the password-protected directory you manage a data file called .htaccess, which specifies the security "zone" name and, most importantly, points to a separate data file, which in turn contains the account name and password pairs that are used to validate access to the directory. Managing this file is not a problem, except ...