Password Protecting a Site....

Good/Bad? Easy/Hard?

[pendanticist]

This post sort of explains my problem.

[webmasterworld.com...]

It was only happenstance that I found this, and at that, it was after the fact.

Would password protecting my site be a viable solution for preventing all those sneaky mass downloaders?

I can't hover over my access_logs files 24 hours a day.

I guess what I'm asking about is the requirement that all viewers register before gaining access to my work.

Is this the best thing to do?

<added>
Perhaps I should point out I don't sell anything.

My site is a directory, of sorts and contains only links to what I feel are some of the better academic resources on the Internet.
</added>

Pendanticist.

[lorax]

If what you're after is to protect your work from being whacked then use a .htaccess to deny the known list of web site whackers (there's a pretty comprehensive list somewhere on here).

The registration system might turn off folks from viewing your work - simply because of the extra steps needed to register (convenience factor) plus they may not feel comfortable giving up personal information to get a look.

It would also prevent the SEs from looking at your work to - if that's of concern.

All in all, unless you have extremely valuable stuff or have paying members - I wouldn't go that route. I'd try to use the banned/bot list in your .htaccess file - that'll prevent 99% of them from getting in.

[pendanticist]

Good points lorax, Thanks.

Am currently working on a spider trap...

[webmasterworld.com...]
[webmasterworld.com...]

Thanks Again.

Pendanticist.