I used cpanel on my hosted site to set up a password protected directory to allow downloads of specific files.I send people a link to the file by email and include their username and password so they can authenticate and download the file.When people use IE there is a warning message:Warning this server is requesting your username and password be sent in an insecure manner...This server is Apache.  How can I stop this messsage appearing?  Will SSL stop it?  I would prefer to not have to use SSL.
How to avoid basic authentication warning when using protected directory?
apache;https;authentication
Yes, SSL is the answer. Without it their login and password are sent in plain text which is insecure. SSL encrypts their login information so it is secure from eavesdroppers.