Hypertext Access, commonly shortened to htaccess  is a directory -level configuration file supported by several web server ,that allows for decentralized management of web server configuration.It is a configuration file which controls the directory it is placed in and all the sub directories underneath it.it has features which allows webmasters to control how many aspects of their websites works,can redirect pages ,change the extensions of the pages ,password protect directories and much  more.The file itself is just a small basic text file and can be edited via your hosts file manager or alternatively you can download the file,edit it and re-upload it. htaccess  file works in Apache Web Server on both Linux/Unix and Windows operating system to control many features of server.

features :

  •  Prevent directory browsing.
  • Redirect visitors from one page/directory to another.
  • Password protection for directories.
  • Prevent hot-linking of image from website.
  • Change the default index page of  a directory.