User Authentication Manager
You can control access to a particular directory on your web server using
a concept commonly termed "user authentication". The "Basic"
user-authentication allows you to restrict access to users who can provide a valid
username/password pair. The User Authentication Manager provides you with a web-based interface
to set up password protected directories and provides your clients with
a web-based interface such that they can change their passwords.
Before you install and use the User Authentication Manager on your Virtual
Server, you should make yourself familiar with the definitions and directives
that are associated with user authentication. See the NCSA
User Authentication Tutorial.
Installation
To install the User Authentication Manager on your Virtual Server you need
to connect to your Virtual Server via Telnet
or SSH and run this command:
% vinstall htaccess
Configuration
In order to prevent anyone from accessing your User Authentication Manager,
yet still allowing yourself access with administrative privileges, you need
to add a Directory directive to your web server's access configuration
file. Specifically, you need to append the following lines to your web server
configuration file (~/www/conf/httpd.conf).
<Directory /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/library/htaccess>
AuthType Basic
AuthName "User Authentication Manager"
AuthUserFile /usr/local/etc/httpd/htpasswd/admin.passwd
<Limit GET POST>
require user admin
</Limit>
</Directory>
This directive limits access to the User Authentication Manager (which is
installed in your ~/www/cgi-bin/library/htaccess directory), allowing
only those clients that authenticate using the user name "admin". The crypted
password for the user "admin" is stored in the ~/www/htpasswd/admin.passwd
file (this password file was installed as part of the archive you untarred
during installation). The admin password is initially set to "5e5ame". You
are strongly encouraged to change this password which can be done by running
these commands:
% cd
% htpasswd ~/usr/local/etc/httpd/htpasswd/admin.passwd admin
You will then be prompted for a new password and asked to retype your new password.
Choosing a Password
If you want to allow users to change passwords remotely (described below)
you will also need to be sure that the option ExecCGI is added
to the htdocs Directory definition. The htdocs Directory
definition is found in your web server configuration file. In this file,
locate the htdocs Directory definition.... it should look something
like:
<Directory /usr/local/etc/httpd/htdocs>
# This may also be "None", "All", or any combination of "Indexes",
# "Includes", or "FollowSymLinks"
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes
.
.
.
</Directory>
Modify the Options to include ExecCGI (as shown below).
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI
Accessing the User Authentication Manager
You can access the User Authentication Manager on your Virtual Server by
typing the following URL into the web browser of your choice:
http://YOUR-DOMAIN.NAME/cgi-bin/library/htaccess/htaccess.pl
You will be prompted for a user name and password before you can use the
User Authentication Manager. Use "admin" and the user name and the password
you selected during the configuration step above. After you have authenticated,
you will be prompted for either 1) a directory that is currently password
protected, or 2) a directory which you would like to password protect. Enter
the directory with respect to your home directory, i.e. use "/www/htdocs/some/directory/"
instead of "/usr/home/LOGIN-NAME/www/htdocs/some/directory/".
- If the directory previously was configured for authentication, the
User Authentication Manager will display the contents of the .htaccess
file in this directory in a web-based form. You can then add new users
or groups, remove current users or groups, change the password of current
users, or change the composition of current groups. You will also see
that the
<Limit> definition(s) are displayed in a web-based
form.
- If the directory you selected was not previously password protected.
The User Authentication Manager will create a default .htaccess
file in that directory and then display it in a web-based form. You
can then add new users and new groups as you desire.
The User Authentication Manager assumes that you have some basic knowledge
about .htaccess files. Should you find that you need more information
about specific features of the User Authentication Manager, you should refer
to the following URLs:
Allowing Users to Change Passwords Remotely
Before a user can be provided with the capability of changing his or her
password using the User Authentication Manager, you must first use the User
Authentication Manager to view or create a password protected directory.
This is outlined in the "Accessing your User Authentication Manager" step
above.
When you use the User Authentication Manager to view or create the .htaccess
in a directory, a few changes are made to the file and directory contents.
One such change includes making a "shortcut" to the User Authentication
Manager in that directory. This "shortcut" is not too different than that
you would find on a Windows 95 or Macintosh desktop and does not impact
your disk usage in any significant way.
After you have accessed the directory using the User Authentication Manager,
you can now allow any user to change his or her password via a web based
form. The user need simply access the User Authentication Manager "shortcut"
that is copied into the directory. For example, you might add something
like this to the web content in the protected directory:
<a href="htaccess.pl">Change Your Password</a>
When your users access the User Authentication Manager in the directory,
the Manager will display a form which allows the user to change their password.
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