This script will allow users to add their IP address to the "allow" list in a .htaccess file.
The idea is for staging sites, to ensure search engines cannot access the site and visitors do not accidentally find it. By running this script, a visitor can add their IP address to the htaccess file, so they gain full access without any further passwords or access problems.
This is a little "security by obscurity" at the moment - you get access to the domain provided you know the front-door URL, but it is not intended as a security feature - it is really only there to keep Google out, since Google seems to find out about anything.
Clients can access the site from dynamic home broadband IPs without the list having to be maintained by anyone centrally. It is just a convenience.
Quickstart usage:
-
Clone this repo to a folder in the root web directory of your site:
$ git submodule add git@github.com:judgej/php-allowme.git allowme
or
$ git clone git@github.com:judgej/php-allowme.git allowme -
Make sure you have a .htaccess file in your web root folder and that the apache process is able to write to it.
-
Go to the "allowme" script to start:
http://your.domain.example.com/allowme
This will create a section in .htaccess that will deny access to all IP addresses by default, but add your IP address as an exception. Every remote IP that accesses the allowme page, will have their IP address added to the exception list.
There is no further security on the script at present, but simple passwords can be added if there is a demand.