A typical web page can be accessed by anyone via a web browser. Some instructors may want or need to restrict access to those web pages. The simplest option requires the placement of a special file in the directory you wish to restrict. This file, which contains your restriction directives, is read by the web server to determine whether to deliver the file being requested by a web browser.
All restrictions work at the directory level.
It is not possible to place different access limits on two files residing in the same directory. The restrictions discussed in this section apply to the Columbia University web server. The Directory Guardian Two options are available to limit access. First, by using the IP address of the computer accessing your page or, secondly, by setting up your own set of user IDs and passwords. Both methods require the use of a special file called .htaccess.