Securing a directory using htaccess but with different levels of access

Question

I am trying to secure a directory by IP address. I need to access the directory from my ip address (through the browser) and no one else. But I also need to access it via cron (cli). I also have scripts in there that are used by all web visitors via ajax…

I did have a htaccess rule on the directory like so:

order deny,allow
deny from all
allow from 127.0.0.1
allow from 192.168.0.
allow from 123.456.789.123
etc..

That works almost perfectly apart from the ajax calls receive a 403.

Is there a way I can secure the directory but also have the access that I and my web users need?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Just use:

allow from 127.0.0.1 192.168.0 123.456.789.123

Answer 2

This has nothing to do with several levels. You are just banning some IPs and allowing others. You need to include all allowed IPs in your config to get it working. This also assumes you know all the possible users' IPs.

If you want to provide more security, you can protect some pages/folders by requiring authentication.

For better security, you can use https if needed. This all depends on the sensitivity of your data and whether you are using a trusted or untrusted network.