How to Setup password protected web directories:

In order to password protect your web directories, you must login to your shell account through SSH (Secure Shell). It encrypts the connection between you and the server. If you are using windows or mac you can find free SSH clients from this page: http://www.openssh.org/windows.html

To setup password protected directories, ssh to yourdomainname.com and login using the same username and password as your FTP.

Once you get to the prompt, enter your public_html folder by typing:
cd public_html

To create a directory that you wish to be password protected type:
mkdir directoryname

(where directoryname is the directory you wish to make.)

Type:
cd directoryname

You will need to create a .htaccess file, you can create it in any plain text editor and uploaded to your directory name or you can type this:
edit .htaccess

and enter this info:
AuthUserFile /home/username/public_html/directoryname/passwordfile
AuthName "My Secure Area"
AuthType Basic
<Limit GET POST PUT>
require valid-user
</Limit>

(where username is the name assigned to you by Swishmail)

Press ESC, select "a" Leave editor and press enter, select "a" save changes and press enter
Now you will need to create the password file by typing:

htpasswd -c passwordfile username

The passwordfile you can change to the password file you wish to use, like .secret instead, but make sure it's called whatever you called it in .htaccess file. Once the passwordfile has been created, to change/add users type:

htpasswd passwordfile username

without the -c (-c is a create new file switch)