How do I encrypt a password for .htpasswd file?

Answer by: Andrew Hickl, Aplus.Net Knowledge Base Support

.htpasswd files are used to store user names and passwords for directories protected with .htaccess files. However, since .htpasswd files often sit in insecure directories, these passwords must be encrypted in order to keep them (and the data they protect) from being compromised.

Aplus.Net has a web-based version of this encryption script: http://users.abac.com/cgi-bin/pass.pl. To encrypt a password using this site, simply type in your password and hit the “Encrypt” button. You can copy the output of this script to your .htpasswd file.

Important: If you have a Windows-based hosting plan, you cannot use .htaccess files.