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 Hotlinking - Enable and Disable Hotlink Protection
Categories: Security, Video Tutorials

Hotlinking - Enable and Disable Hotlink Protection

Hotlink Protection helps prevent other websites from directly linking to files hosted on your website, such as images, documents, and media. This helps reduce unauthorized bandwidth usage and protects your website's resources.

You can manage Hotlink Protection from the following:

To access the Hotlink Protection settings:

  1. Log in to your Customer Portal.
  2. Click Websites on the left-hand menu.

    Customer Portal - Websites tab

  1. Locate the website you want to manage, then click Manage Site.

    settings button

  2. Navigate to the Security tab.

    Security tab

  3. Scroll down to the Hotlink Protection section, then click Manage.

    Hotlink Protection

  4. The Hotlink Protection Management page will open.

    Hotlink Protection Management

Hotlink Protection allows you to choose which file types should be protected from unauthorized direct linking.

Select File Extensions

Check the boxes for the file extensions you want to protect. To protect all available file types, select Select All.

Select File Types

The available file extensions include:

  • Images: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, PSD
  • Documents: PDF, TXT, HTM, HTML
  • Archives: ZIP, RAR
  • Media: MP3, MPG, MPEG, AVI, MOV, WMA, SWF
  • Other Files: PHP, EXE

Allow Direct Requests

The Allow direct request option lets visitors access a protected file by entering it's direct URL into their browser.

Direct Requests

  • Enabled - Visitors can open the file directly using its URL.
  • Disabled - Direct requests are restricted, and Hotlink Protection rules are enforced.

For example, if someone enters https://yourdomain.com/images/logo.png directly into their browser, enabling this option allows the file to load normally.

Redirect Blocked Requests

Instead of blocking unauthorized requests, you can redirect them to another webpage.

To configure a redirect:

  1. Select the appropriate protocol https:// or http://.

    Select protocol

  2. Enter the destination URL in the Redirect Blocked Request field.

    Enter URL

  3. Click Save.

    Click Save

  1. Log in to cPanel.
  2. Look for the Security section, then click Hotlink Protection.

    cPanel - Hotlink Protection

  3. Make sure the domain name you wish to protect is in the box called URLs to allow access.

    Configure Hotlink Protection

  4. If you're satisfied with the URLs and current settings, click the Enable button.

    Hotlink Enabled

    If you want to further configure the settings, proceed to Step 5 (without clicking the Enable button yet).

  5. Provide the extensions you would like to block in the Block direct access for the following extensions (comma-separated).

    cPanel - Block Direct Access for Hotlinking

  6. Leave the Redirect the request to this URL box blank unless you want outside users to be redirected to another page. If yes, input the destination URL.
  7. Hit Submit.
  8. A successful confirmation page will appear.

    Hotlink Protection Confirmation

  9. Click Go Back.
  1. On the Hotlink Protection page, click Disable.

    Hotlink Protection Disabled

  2. A confirmation page will be displayed.

    Hotlink Protection Disabled

You have now protected your images from being hotlinked. Just be sure that all of your additional domains are on the Hotlink list.

If your images stop working, you may need to check your HTML source code for a common problem. Some website designers (or programs) may decide to use absolute pathnames for your images. That means, instead of a relative path like "/images/pic.jpg," it will use the entire URL like "http://www.domain.com/images/pic.jpg." You must have that exact protocol and domain name listed in your allowed URLs ("URLs to allow access"). If there is any slight difference in the protocol (http://) or the domain name (domain.com/) between the allowed list and the HTML source code, then your images will be blocked.
Some firewalls (such as Symantec's Norton Internet Security and ZoneAlarm) will block a special referrer variable in order to add more user privacy. HotLink protection works with this variable to tell where the request is coming from. As such, Hotlink isn't the best solution to avoid bandwidth theft, as it will eventually block legitimate requests from visitors using one of those firewalls. Unfortunately, this issue is not under our control, and there's nothing we can do to prevent it from blocking legitimate visitors. Use it at your own risk.

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