What best practices should be followed to prevent unauthorized access to PHP files and methods?

To prevent unauthorized access to PHP files and methods, it is important to implement proper access control measures. This can be done by using authentication mechanisms such as username and password verification, session management, and role-based access control. Additionally, restricting direct access to sensitive files by placing them outside the web root directory can help enhance security.

// Example of implementing authentication in PHP

session_start();

if(!isset($_SESSION['logged_in']) || $_SESSION['logged_in'] !== true) {
    header('Location: login.php');
    exit;
}

// Your sensitive code here