How can the use of .htaccess be utilized to prevent direct access to PHP files that are only meant for inclusion?

Direct access to PHP files that are meant for inclusion can be prevented by using the .htaccess file to deny access to those files from external requests. This can be achieved by adding specific rules in the .htaccess file to restrict access to the files based on their file extension or location. ```apache <FilesMatch "\.php$"> Order allow,deny Deny from all </FilesMatch> ```