This tutorial describes how to configure hotlink protection in cPanel. Enabling hotlink protection can help prevent other websites from using the bandwidth of your website.
About Hotlinking
Hotlinking, also known as linking online or direct linking is when another website link direct to files that are hosted on your website. For example, the web page of another site may contain direct links to image files that are stored on your website. As a result, when visitors go to another website and your site hosting the image files, the bandwidth is effectively “stolen”.
To avoid this situation, you can configure hotlink protection in cPanel.
Enabling Hotlink protection
To enable Hotlink Protection, follow these steps:
- In the Security section of the main screen of cPanel, click Hotlink protection.
- Click Enable.
- In the directions to allow access to URL text box, type the URLs of websites that can access your files.
- In the short block, type the file extensions for which you want to block the access.
- In the redirect text box, you can optionally type a URL. The blocked sites users will see the redirected page instead of hotlinked file.
- Click Submit.
Disabling Hotlink protection
When another website links no longer directly to your files (or if you do not mind others using your files websites), you can disable hotlink protection.
To disable hotlink protection, follow these steps:
- In the Security section of the main screen of cPanel, click Hotlink Protection.
- Click Disable.
