password-protected file sharing

[mrwebby]

I know how to password protect a directory with cpanel (htaccess), but does anyone know an easy way to password-protect a file for download?

1. I want to be able to offer a file via for download via url. 2. After entering the url, the user would need to enter username and password.
3. Then, file download would start.

Seems like a relatively simple thing to do, but I have asked 3 webmasters I know, and none can give me clear instructions how to do this.

So now, I ask the experts! :)

[rocknbil]

Welcome aboard MrWebby - not very masterful webmasters huh? :-)

In truth, there is no "clear instruction", which is probably why you didn't get one. There are a number of ways to do this, and all of them involve some sort of server-side programming. One way would be similar to the solution I propose in this thread [webmasterworld.com]. Instead of a temporary URL, you would store a user name and password.

[mrwebby]

Guess this can get pretty complicated. This is still all pretty new to me. Is it OK to continue using htaccess, or are there security issues with this?

Thanks,
mrwebby

[rocknbil]

I don't use that CMS. Does it allow you to manually add and remove multiple users? If so that should be fine. The problem is you will want to allow them for a specific amount of time, otherwise it could get passed around freely.