Password Protected Directory vs PHP/MSQL Login

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1

I was curious as to what the security differences are when creating a password protected directory (using a htaccess file) vs an ordinary php/mysql login system. I’m working on a small project that came up last second for a close friend who is participating in a charity event this coming weekend. We need simple proofing galleries for a small number of people. The username and password will be provided to the users in the week after the event and the pages will only be available for a short period of time.

Considering the time restraints I was wondering if it is acceptable to create password protected directories for each of the users through the cPanel GUI.

We do not need a full fledged system and am looking to this as a quick and simple method of accomplishing our task.

If you have any insight on password protected directories it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

2

.htaccess is more robust and easier to implement (especially for small number of users), in my opinion. The only drawback I see is that you do not get to customize login prompt, when using “Basic authentication”.

3

You can customize the text of an htaccess login, but that’s pretty much the extent of it.

The htaccess login is susceptible to brute-force attacks.

A PHP/MySQL login can assign different permissions levels at the application level and store user preferences. If you choose to implement it, you can prevent too many login attempts.

judging from your description, using the htaccess login prompt would be perfectly acceptable for your project.