Haha! I finally know your password, Kevin! J/k.

dwroth

the link .htaccess Editor links right back to this page.
=D

keehun

The correct link seems to be: [www.htaccesseditor.com]

WarCow

Um, the link to the editor links back to the post. Fix? In case you don't know, its [www.htaccesseditor.com]

Have a nice day!

Brad

@BenPoopken: Lifehacker seems to have a fear of linking to websites that are not Lifehacker.

This was obviously a mistake and not a purposeful editorial choice.

Mike

Lifehacker seems to have a fear of linking to websites that are not Lifehacker. Is there a reason there is never a single link the actual blog post that points to a relevant product or services' site, instead of a Lifehacker tag or article about said product or service? It seems like this self-linking policy goes against the most fundamental principles of the Internet.

BenPoopken

This is a good starting point for someone poking around with a few users but not a full fledge operation I think.

I have asked this question in several forums and have yet to find one person that comes with a conclusive answer, on how they solve the problem or implement either open source or commercial packages in their site for user management/password protection of specific pages.

My findings so far have floated around htaccess, php scripts, and commercial packages with a range of features and price points. But regardless of how much I look around, it just seems that I have lots of leads but no idea which direction to take.

Anyone here care to share their secrets? As of Lifehacker, what do you guys use.

It seems like this topic is the best kept web secret yet, at least for me.

For reference I have looked at:

[www.authelo.com]

[www.krizleebear.de]

[www.zubrag.com]

[www.freshsoftware.com]

[www.opencrypt.com]

[needsecure.com]

[www.coffeecup.com]

kepoma

@Mike: Obviously. Some people get so touchy. I can't stand to have lh torn down!!

photoben

I boo this. If you don't have time/patience/intelligence to edit .htaccess yourself, then the web is probably better off without your content. Sorry if that's rude, but sometimes things are better if they require just a little bit of effort.

bmearns

@bmearns: So if someone makes something easier to use, it's a bad thing? Are you surfing the web with Lynx? Are you posting your comments through a command line? I doubt it. You're probably using a graphical web browser just like everyone else because it makes your life easier and makes more efficient use of your time. Just because someone chooses to use a graphical interface to edit a file doesn't mean they don't have the intelligence to manually edit the file. It just means they don't want to waste their time. I know how to create web pages using a simple text editor, but I'd rather use a web development app since it speeds up development time.

msisaac

@bmearns: I can understand requiring a bit of effort, but in regards to server GUI apps, I'd much MUCH rather use a graphical interface leaving me more time to devote to creating actual content. Mysql is similar - I've tried using the command line for it, but using phpmyadmin is so insanely easier that I've never looked back. Maybe I don't have the full grasp of the software, but for my purposes, I don't need it.

Chris

@bmearns: I'd look up "elitism" in the dictionary if I were you. Some of us, like msisaac and I, would rather move along to actual content and presentation than to waste time fiddling with something like that.

Sure, your site is more secure than Fort Knox, and it's all done long hand, but if your site took two more days to put in prod because you just couldn't get that htaccess file down to a T, you've missed the point.

Writing your htaccess file the hard way is only good for your geek scout badge sash. It's nice to know and brag about, but it's not necessary. A knot works because it holds things together, not because you made the ropes yourself.

Frank

Sorry, folks. Didn't mean to start a holy war. I guess I'm a little bit of a purist (or as Frank would say, "elitist").

I have no problem, in general with things being made easier, and, as msisaac points out, no I'm not using Lynx. Web related "development shortcuts" tend to get under my skin because I find that the easier it is for anybody with half a brain to publish content to the WWW, the harder it is to actually find something you're looking for. I suppose this may not really fall under this category, because if somebody's going through the effort of setting up a server, handwritten htaccess or not, they're probably more invested than your typical Joe-Nobody blogger with nothing to say but eager to say it.

Frank, your metaphor about knots is cute, but falls a little short. With a knot, it's usually pretty easy to tell whether or not it's working. Not the case with server configuration. Without at least a cursory understanding of the syntax and directives, how can you really know if it's going to work the way you want?

But anyway, I will retract my original comment, as it was probably overly agressive, and say instead "I personally don't think I'll be using this tool and, at the risk of sounding liking I'm boasting, I feel that hand writing the htaccess file is sufficiently simple that the web interface doesn't really provide much improvement on ease of use."

bmearns