My client would like a secure web directory where files such as word and excel files can be stored. These files must be password protected. This I have sorted out. What I need to do now is when the user logs in to the PHP site, have him automatically authorized to use this folder without the .htaccess dialogue box prompting him for a further username and password. In other words I want the PHP to authorize him to use this folder without him knowing. The method http://username:[email protected] would do what I need but Internet Explorer has this functionality disabled by Microsoft because of security issues. Is there any way to get around this? Alternatively is there an alternative to .htaccess that would provide the same protection with the advantage of an automatic login?

Thanks in advance,
Justin