What are best practices for securing PHP files and preventing direct access?

To secure PHP files and prevent direct access, it is recommended to store sensitive files outside of the public web directory, use .htaccess rules to restrict access to specific files or directories, and implement input validation to prevent unauthorized access. 

<?php
// Place this code at the beginning of your PHP files to prevent direct access
if (basename(__FILE__) == basename($_SERVER["SCRIPT_FILENAME"])) {
    header("HTTP/1.0 403 Forbidden");
    exit("Access denied.");
}
?>

Keywords

.htaccess PHP security direct access file permissions

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