Proper structure is important when building a website. Including an index page in each folder is one of the basic steps to both design and security. By default, if a visitor lands on a subdirectory without an index page, they will see an “Index Of” page that lists all files and folders under that directory. This can be at the least embarrassing and unprofessional and at most a security risk. Follow the instructions below to learn about preventing the “Index Of” listing page using the Index Manager in the cPanel.
How to prevent displaying the “Index Of” page via cPanel
- First, log into your cPanel interface.
- Look through the categories listing on the right hand panel of the main cPanel page and find the Advanced category. Click on the Indexes icon to continue.
- On the next page, you can select the directory you want to edit. The directories you see are all of the directories in the top level of cPanel’s home folder, just as you’d see if you opened the cPanel File Manager. If the directory you want to edit is a few levels deep, click through the directories on the left until you find the one you want to edit, then click the Edit button for that directory.
- You are now brought to a screen where you can select the Indexing style you want to present. To prevent any index listing at all, simply select the No Indexing radio button. Click Save to activate your selection.
- Now you can visit your site and view the same directory or subdirectory without an index file. You should receive a 403 Forbidden page instead of a list of files. Below is a before and after shot demonstrating how the No Index setting prevents the display of the file list.
Before:
After:
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I have hosted my .net core application on linux ubunto using Apche2 server but when i browes for windows system i am geeting index of\ and all my dll details.
Please suggest
This appears to be an Apache web server issue. You will need to review the server documentation. Here’s an article on hiding your folders.
This is an outdated idea that I errorniously applied and it disorganized my server settings. Now I am having Internal Sever Error and all my client are compalining.
Please take this down before the same thing happens another person.
Thank you.
Hello,
I’m sorry to see what happened and appreciate you bringing this to our attention. It seems like this may be circumstantial, in which case, more details surrounding the conditions of your circumstances would help to ensure that we include any exceptions and/or notes regarding the internal 500 error you experienced. Would you be able to provide any additional details as to what changes caused the issue and what the resolve was?
Again, I’m sorry to see that you had a negative result from following the steps in this guide.
Hi! this happened to me too. I have a https website and wanted to prevent directory browsing. Followed the instructions exactly as mentioned here. Now, I get the 500 internal error. The error log page is empty. Have tried to revert the change back by setting indexes of the publichtml folder to default system setting but didn’t work.
Any suggestion?
I recommend you contact Live Support for further assistance. We’ll look into updating the article.
i have Index.html file in my Public_html folder still i am getting Index of/ error.
And i dont i cgi-bin folder in my public_html folder. Is that effecting my files.
Sorry to see that is happening. Have you tried following the steps in this guide? You can also try to do this manually using the .htaccess file.
Hi, I want to know that if i disable indexing will it affect SEO of the website?
The index option in this article has to do with accessing a listing via browser. Disabling it will not affect your SEO. If you’re referring to cache indexing, then it’s different. It is a fact that slower loading sites can affect how search engines place a site. If disabling indexing will slow the site load times to unsatisfactory time, then it may not be advised if you are trying to keep your search results in place.
Hi, I followed this article but for some reason my website’s directories and files are still browseable. I also tried doing it manually, by adding Options -Indexes to my htaccess file, with no luck. Any idea where I’m going wrong? My site is in a subfolder in my public_html directory if that helps, although Idon’tt think that matters does it?
Unless you have another .htaccess file in the subfolder that disables it, it should not matter. Have you cleared your browser cache to be sure it is not a browser issue?
Can we also put an index.php file in the directory redirecting back to the main index page of the site? Or, would this not be advisable?
Hello Craig,
That does work as well just requires different steps is all.
Best Regards,
TJ Edens
I had the same problem and followed the steps above in this example and got the 403 forbiden page.
So what next becaause i need to see my website online insteadof the 403 page.
thanks.
Hello Yosia,
If you are now seeing the 403 it means that there is no index page for your site in that folder. You will need to upload one.
Kindest Regards
Scott M
hello…,good morning.inmotionhosting is a flexible tutorial for cpanel and webhosting.
Thre is an explicit configuration option set within the “Index Manager” of “Default System Setting”
Where can I modify the default?
I followed all how to do but keep getting a “Enter user name and Password” in google browser, not a direct download starts? But I do not wish for any body to just access files from the directory only from link. How can I do this please?