Web Hosting Forum | Lunarpages


*
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?


Login with username, password and session length
May 25, 2012, 08:06:30 AM

Pages: [1]   Go Down
« previous next »
  Print  
Author Topic: Protected Directory  (Read 857 times)
Debbie
Spaceship Navigator
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 96



WWW
« on: July 03, 2011, 11:20:09 AM »
I know this is a basic web designer question, but I'm completely brain dead when I think about it.

I need to install the Forum script on a clients website, but.... the forum cannot be viewed by the average person. It needs to be hidden and accessible only via a password and login.

So, my basic question (hard to believe I've been doing this for 14 years, isn't it??) is, how the heck do I do this? I don't know why I'm just drawing a blank!  Advice would be greatly appreciated. And no, it's not early senility!   Help
Logged
"Sooner or later, you are going to learn, just as I did, that there is  a difference between KNOWING the path and WALKING the path."  ~Morpheus, from The Matrix~
wektech
Master Jedi
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 1031



WWW
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2011, 11:52:55 AM »
While you could password protect a directory, any decent forum program will allow you to restrict access to all boards to only registered users. Using the forum software to restrict access is better because then you will not need to manually add each user to allow access or share the same password to all users.
Logged
Money savings tips for real people by real people!
Debbie
Spaceship Navigator
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 96



WWW
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2011, 12:23:52 PM »
Thank you. But the problem is the forum cannot seen by at all by outsiders with this client. It's strictly for their members.

I've seen some tech forums that are designed the way you suggest and you can't even see the posts without joining. But I need to hide the forum completely from the public view.

Sort of like having a separate URL sub-directory with a login page only. Then when they login they get taken to the forum. The issue that I can't get my brain around is the forum has to be installed in its own folder/directory and it has its own index page. So here's where I'm brain dead - how do I get the login in place?

My thought was to create an add-on domain called: forum.website.com and then install the forum underneath that? So the login page would be an index.html or index.php page under the main folder of the add-on domain, then install the forum to: forum.website.com/members  I guess where I'm stumped is that when they click to submit the login (and they could all have the same login to gain access because they could then set up their individual profile once in the forum) info, what is the method of redirecting them upon successful login to the forum folder /members/

I hope I'm making sense.

Debbie
Logged
"Sooner or later, you are going to learn, just as I did, that there is  a difference between KNOWING the path and WALKING the path."  ~Morpheus, from The Matrix~
MrPhil
Senior Moderator
Berserker Poster
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 5219
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2011, 06:58:04 PM »
If you must completely hide the existence of a forum from the general public, the only way will be to use "password protected directory" on the top level directory of the forum. That should protect access to any directories under it. If it is sufficient to hide the content of the forum, any good forum software will at least let you prevent guests from reading posts. Some will let you hide at higher levels (topics, boards, categories even). This may require a canned "modification" applied to the software.

If you're looking to hide the very existence of a forum using the forum's IDs and passwords, that can't be done with standard password protected directories. At the very least, a user would have to sign on twice with the same ID and password, and maintain them separately. There's no way to get the "clear text" password out of the forum and put it into the directory system, unless you modify the forum to grab the password and put it (hashed) into the directory system's password file. Even then, a member will have to enter their ID and password twice to get in.

You might look at "portal" systems. I know that SMF has several different ones available (SimplePortal, TinyPortal, and more). You might be able to hide the existence of the forum from anyone not signed on at the Portal level, but you'll have to check them out carefully to see which ones support this.
Logged
Visit My Site

E-mail Me
 
-= From the ashes shall rise a sooty tern =-
Debbie
Spaceship Navigator
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 96



WWW
« Reply #4 on: July 05, 2011, 11:56:31 AM »
Thanks MrPhil, you mirrored what I was thinking but for some reason it didn't make as much sense in my head as it does reading your words. I will go with the password protected directory and install it beneath that.  Thank you!

Debbie
Logged
"Sooner or later, you are going to learn, just as I did, that there is  a difference between KNOWING the path and WALKING the path."  ~Morpheus, from The Matrix~
Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  
« previous next »
 
Jump to: