What's the difference between the public_html and the www directory?
There really is no difference: Your web root (where you upload your [web accessible] website files to) is the public_html directory. The www directory is just a symbolic link (i.e., an aliased name that points to the same place) as public_html.
To upload/publish, you use public_html, however, since some FTP and other publishing software may not be compatible with a symbolic linked directory.
Important Note regarding symbolic links; they are simply another path to the same area, they are not copies (removing a file from one will remove the file from both locations).
Why is this done you might wonder? This is for compatibility with the two default web roots hosting providers often use to make migrating to hosting services easier by not having to change paths in scripts users/programmers/webmasters might have from a previous provider that used another web root name.
How do I add/remove directory/password protection for a specified directory?
To enable directory protection, log into your control panel, and under "Site Management" go to the "Directory Protection" area. Once there, navigate to the directory (or folder) you want to add password protection to. If the directory is a sub directory of another folder, simply follow the folders until you see the directory you want to protect presented as a hotlink to click on.
Once you select the directory to protect by clicking on the link by the same name, you may begin setting up the protection. Always be sure that you haven't mistakenly left a field unchecked or blank and be sure to read all the text and requirements to be sure nothing is missed.
To set up directory (password) protection, simply follow the directions closely. Be sure to check the box that says "Directory requires a password to access via the web (you must check this to activate password protection)." If you do not check this, it will not be enabled!
Then, below that option, where it says "Protected Resource Name (will display in browser's password mask):", be sure you don't leave that empty. Fill it in with a value. It's also a good idea to make sure that there's no spaces or non-alphanumeric characters in the Realm name to avoid errors.
Click "Submit" to enable password protection. Once it's enabled by following the steps above, go back to the option where you password protected that directory in question and add a user/password for that area under the "Add/modify authorized user" section.
Fill in an appropriate username and password and click the "Add/Modify authorized user" button. You will use this username and password to access the directory in question.
Please try to use alphanumeric characters only and don't use the : or @ character in either field either! You can add additional users if you wish, also.
You should be good to go now, when you access the directory via the web.
If you want/need to remove a user from that area, simply use the "Remove user's authorization" option in that same directory while in the directory protection area of the control panel, and select the user to remove and click the "Remove user's authentication" button.
If you need/want to disable the protection on a specified directory (to remove password protection completely for the directory), simply go to the area by navigating to the directory as you did to set up password protection, and uncheck the "Directory requires a password to access via the web (you must check this to activate password protection)." option and click the "Submit" button to save the changes.
Please remember, if you try and access a password protected directory and you aren't prompted for a login/you do not receive the login prompt, it may be that you have the last login saved in your browser's session (which will remain as long as all occurrences of your web browser remain open). Thus, the session is still authenticating you and you'd need to restart your browser to clear it to see the prompt. If it fails to prompt for a login, you should also be sure that the protection is enabled as specified above, and that a username exists in the list, also specified above. If one is missing, you might have missed a step and should recheck the settings. |
