What measures can be taken to protect download links and prevent unauthorized access to content in PHP?

To protect download links and prevent unauthorized access to content in PHP, you can implement a system that checks if the user is authenticated and authorized to access the download link. This can be done by verifying user credentials, checking permissions, and generating unique download tokens that expire after a certain period of time. 

<?php
// Check if user is authenticated and authorized to access the download link
if($user_authenticated && $user_authorized) {
    // Generate a unique download token
    $download_token = md5(uniqid(rand(), true));
    
    // Set the download link with the token
    $download_link = "http://example.com/download.php?token=" . $download_token;
    
    // Redirect user to the download link
    header("Location: $download_link");
    exit;
} else {
    // Redirect user to an error page or display an error message
    header("Location: http://example.com/error.php");
    exit;
}
?>

Keywords

PHP download links access control authentication security

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