According to Apache documentation:
.htaccess files (or “distributed configuration files”) provide a way to make configuration changes on a per-directory basis. A file, containing one or more configuration directives, is placed in a particular document directory, and the directives apply to that directory, and all subdirectories thereof.
Many PHP web applications use .htaccess files to restrict access to specific files or directories that may contain sensitive information. For example, in order to restrict access to all files in a specific directory you can create a .htaccess file in that directory containing the string “deny from all”. In many cases it is wrong to impose security restrictions using .htaccess files.
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