Hi I am totally new to php (I literally know nothing about it) but am an intermediate-to-advanced programmer, and need to password protect a folder or otherwise individual files on the server for members to access of a non-profit I run. My server provider just installed php on his server for me (he doesn’t have Apache) but told me I have to do all the programming work as he is unfamiliar with it.
1) please recommend any good sources for me to obtain sample scripts and directions on how to implement
2) or please kindly provide step-by-step “guide” on what must be done to protect a folder or file on my server. I want to have either a pop-up window or other means for a limited number of members to enter their chosen username & password.
Most files would be a web page, but some could be downloadable pdf.
Everything I have found here has been little snippets of code, that doesn’t explain the Big Pitcure of the php process.
Sorry if my question is confusing to some or not enough info. Thank you for your comments though.
Please understand that I am not the server owner, I am just an individual who has my website on this server space with FTP access to it. I think the guy said it is Microsoft based if that makes sense? and he added php to it for me as I thought that might help, since he doesn’t have Apache which would have been the ideal from what I’ve read.
I don’t think that the guy wants to be bothered with adding/removing users & their passwords as members join or leave. the idea is for me to have that control and ability.
If there is some other way besides php ?
@jerrygarciuh ‘s suggestion seems way more involved than I am capable of implementing!
😉
The problem exists that you cannot directly use a PHP script to check a session or anything before loading a pdf.
Quick note is to never depend on obscurity either. So an answer like putting the files into a database and randomly changing them isn’t a great idea.
What you need is to prevent them from entering the page, which means the only plausible way to do this is through a configuration file, like web.config (if IIS) or placing a file above the document root . However, we really need more information on this.