Hotlinking is when another website links directly to your images or files, using your bandwidth to display content on their site. Hotlink protection stops this by only allowing your own site to load your files. This guide explains how to enable it in DirectAdmin.
Why hotlinking is a problem #
- It uses your bandwidth to serve other people’s pages.
- Your images appear on sites you do not control.
- It can slow things down and cost you resources.
Enabling hotlink protection #
- Log in to DirectAdmin.
- Find the Hotlink Protection tool.
- Enable protection.
- Confirm your own domain is allowed, so your site still loads its files.
- List the file types to protect, such as jpg, png, and gif.
- Save.
Allowing exceptions #
If you want certain other sites, such as a partner or a social platform preview, to load your images, add them to the allowed list. Everything not on the list will be blocked from hotlinking your protected file types.
Things to keep in mind #
- Make sure your own domain (with and without www) is allowed.
- Search engines and some previews may need access to image files.
- Test your site afterwards to confirm images still display for you.
Troubleshooting #
- Your own images broke: add your domain to the allowed list.
- Social previews missing images: allow the relevant platform.
Need help? #
If hotlink protection blocks the wrong thing, our support team can fine-tune it over live chat.
