What happens when you want to setup a folder that has secret information in it, and you want to make sure only a select group of people have access to what is in that directory? You can simply set up password protection for that folder, so anybody you give a user name and password to can access that folder in question.

First, you will want to click on the Password Protect Directories menu link, under Your Site in the LPCP control panel.

Next, you should see all the folders you have created within your public_html folder. Navigate through the folders by clicking on the folder icon, and once you find the one you want to protect, click on the lock icon next to the folder icon.

This takes you to the password protection options for that specific folder that you selected to password protect. Now, you have several text boxes options and other things you must setup to password protect the folder in question.

How to Setup the Password Protection

Here is what you need to know when setting up your password protected folder:

• Activate Password Protection: By checking this check mark box, you are activating password protection for this specific folder.
• Resource Name: Whatever message to type here will display as the title for the password login box, when somebody tries to login to that directory.

Once you are done, click on the button labeled, “Save”.

In this section, you can add or remove users. Each login you create here will give that specific user name and password combination access to the folder you are protecting. You will need to fill out the following:

• User Name: the user name they will user to sign on
• Password: the password they will use to get access
• Confirm Password: the same password, typed again

Once you are done, click the button labeled, “Add authorized user”. Now that user will have access to your password protected folder.

Please Note: Before testing make sure to upload or create an index file in the folder. If you do not have an index file, you will receive a forbidden error when logging into the folder.

Now you see how easy it is to setup password protection using LPCP in your own hosting account.  For those of you who use cPanel, and want to do the same – you can follow the advice in this tutorial. For many more tips, walkthroughs and guides be sure to check out our fantastic web hosting wiki.