How to configure leech protection in cPanel

This article describes how to use cPanel’s Leech Protect feature to help prevent users from publicly posting their username and password.Table of Contents

• What is leech protection?
• Enabling leech protection for a directory
• Disabling leech protection for a directory
• More Information

What is leech protection?

When users publicly post their username and password, unauthorized visitors can use their credentials to access secure areas of your web site. This practice is known as leeching.

By restricting how many times a user can access a secure section of your website in a 24-hour period, cPanel guards against leeching. For instance, you could set a four-login limit for users in a two-hour window. Users who log in more than once may be sent to a different URL, an alert email may be sent to them, or their account may be disabled.

Enabling leech protection for a directory

To enable leech protection for a directory, follow these steps:

1. Log in to cPanel.If you do not know how to log in to your cPanel account, please see this article.
2. Open the Leech Protection tool:
   • If you are using the Jupiter theme, on the Tools page, in the Security section, click Leech Protection:
   • If you are using the Paper Lantern theme, in the SECURITY section of the cPanel home page, click Leech Protection:
     
3. Click the name of the directory that you want to protect.
   You can click the folder icon next to the folder name to open the folder.
4. Click Edit.
5. Under Set up Leech Protection, type the number of logins allowed per username in a two-hour period.
6. Type a URL to redirect users to another web page when their account is compromised.
7. To receive an e-mail alert when an account is compromised, select the Send Email Alert to check box, and then type an e-mail address.
8. To disable accounts that are compromised, select the Disable Compromised Accounts check box.
9. Click Enable.

Disabling leech protection for a directory

To disable leech protection for a directory, follow these steps:

1. Log in to cPanel.If you do not know how to log in to your cPanel account, please see this article.
2. Open the Leech Protection tool:
   • If you are using the Jupiter theme, on the Tools page, in the Security section, click Leech Protection:
   • If you are using the Paper Lantern theme, in the SECURITY section of the cPanel home page, click Leech Protection:
     
3. Click the name of the directory for which you want to disable leech protection. Directories that have leech protection currently enabled have a small image of a shield next to them.
   You can click the folder icon next to the folder name to open the folder.
4. Click Edit.
5. Under Disable Protection, click Disable.

More Information

• For more information about leeches in computing, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leech_(computing).
• For more information about the blood-sucking worm, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leech.