As the owner of a website, security should be one of your major concerns. After all, an important aspect of successful, safe website management is ensuring that files and downloads on your site are protected and in the right hands. Because WordPress does not have a built-in secure download feature, if you simply create your site and post some links to files, programs, or media on a downloads page, anyone on the internet may access these files. This unauthorized access to your downloads can be dangerous if the files contain valuable or sensitive data. How to Protect Download Links in WordPress With Download Manager The CM WordPress Download Manager plugin decreases the risk that your data will be accessed by those for whom it wasnu2019t intended. The plugin enables you to create a unique password so that each file is secure and safe. In this way, the file will be locked until the password is entered correctly, essentially eliminating unauthorized access to your files. [cmproduct id='3'] How to Set Up Password Protection for Files You can set up the password directly on the uploader or u201cNew Downloadu201d form when you create your file, as shown here: Click the checkbox for u201cProtect by password,u201d and type in the password After youu2019ve set up a password for a file, when the user attempts to download it, they will be prompted to type the password into the field above the u201cDownloadu201d button. In addition, you can set rules defining who has access to downloads. Go to the u201cAccess and moderationu201d tab under plugin settings to configure these rules. You may also restrict access only to those with specific user roles. You can even set permissions for each category so that certain user roles are restricted from adding, editing, or deleting files based on the category in question. With these security measures in place, you can feel more confident that your files are secure and that your valuable data is protected. For more information or to view detailed step-by-step instructions, please view our documentation here.