Hotlink protection ensures that you are protected against bandwidth theft. It prevents other websites from directly linking to your site�s files, which in turn puts a stop to other website owners benefiting from your domain�s data resources. As a result, source files will not be leached from the server hosting your website.
By not enabling this protection, you risk receiving no credit for all the hard work you put into your website on top of an ever-increasing bandwidth bill.
Hotlink Protection through cPanel
In essence, hotlink protection will cause cPanel to evaluate a URL that is requesting access to your website�s files, and block that request if it is not coming from an approved domain. cPanel gives users an intuitive graphical interface which minimizes the need to use the command line, especially when it comes to accomplishing simple tasks.
To enable hotlink protection through cPanel, follow the following steps:
You can also make use of an approved htaccess plugin, suited to your content management system, to do the job for you. However, it is important to note that HotLink Protection enabled through cPanel may cause problems when using a CMS. If you are experiencing this problem then rather try to manually edit the .htaccess file yourself.