Hotlink Protection
How to prevent other sites from stealing your images and bandwidth
Hotlinking occurs when another site links directly to an image on your server. This steals your bandwidth without benefit. Here's how to stop it.
- 1Step 1
Enable Protection
In cPanel, go to 'Security' section and click 'Hotlink Protection'. Click the 'Enable' button to activate it.
- 2Step 2
Allow Access URLs
In 'URLs to allow access', ensure all your domain variations are listed (e.g., http://yourdomain.com and https://yourdomain.com). Any site not listed will be blocked.
- 3Step 3
Block Extensions
In 'Block direct access for the following extensions', ensure common image and video formats are listed (jpg,jpeg,gif,png,bmp,mp4).
- 4Step 4
Redirect to Alternate Image (Optional)
You can set a URL for an alternate image (e.g., an image saying 'Stolen Image') to display on sites attempting to hotlink.
When Do You Need This?
- If your site has exclusive or high-quality images.
- If you notice a sudden, unexplained spike in Bandwidth usage.
- To protect direct download files (like PDF or Zip) from unauthorized sharing.
- Note: Enabling this might block images on some email services or social networks if not whitelisted.
Did images disappear from your site after enabling?