Prevent Direct Access S3 Integration

Prevent Direct Access S3 Integration - Protect your private files on Amazon S3

Prevent Direct Access S3 Integration is an extension that allows you to secure files and media stored in Amazon S3 without changing your existing WordPress content upload process. The solution focuses on access control, generating temporary links, and integrating with popular e-commerce and membership systems. This allows files stored in S3 to remain private and accessible only by authorized websites and applications.

Key Features of Prevent Direct Access S3 Integration

• Generating signed, expiring URLs to S3 objects, limiting direct downloads;
• Mapping protected files from the WordPress media library to private objects in S3 while maintaining the link structure;
• Setting access rules at the user role, post, product or resource level (e.g., a lesson in an LMS);
• Integration with WooCommerce, membership systems and LMS, allowing for automatic sharing of content upon purchase or role assignment;
• Support for custom domains/CloudFront and CNAME configurations, allowing you to serve protected files via CDN;
• Options for link expiration, download limits, and hotlink protection;
• Automatically convert links in posts and pages to point to signed S3 addresses instead of public URLs;
• Ability to batch secure existing files and migrate resources to private mode.

Benefits of use

Using Prevent Direct Access S3 Integration brings tangible benefits to website owners with paid resources or restricted content. First, it increases control over content distribution and minimizes the risk of unauthorized sharing. Second, S3-level file security reduces the costs associated with abuse (e.g., high traffic caused by hotlinks). Third, integration with sales and membership mechanisms simplifies the process of making resources available only to users with valid permissions.

Example applications

• E-learning platforms: protection of videos, PDFs and exercise files made available after paying for the course;
• WooCommerce-based digital stores: securing downloads after product purchase;
• Premium content and paid subscription sites: access control and link expiration for current subscribers;
• Portfolios and file banks: preventing unauthorized copying and hotlinking of media;
• Intranets and B2B services: distribute documents only to authorized employees or partners.

Security and compatibility with AWS infrastructure

Prevent Direct Access S3 Integration works with S3 privacy settings and IAM mechanisms. The solution utilizes private S3 objects and generates signed links using permission-limited access keys. Additionally, CloudFront can be used as a CDN layer to accelerate content delivery, and CORS and cache-control headers can be configured to meet project needs.

The integration simplifies the migration of existing files to protected mode and automates the sharing process for complex business scenarios. Prevent Direct Access S3 Integration is ideal for applications where combining efficient S3 storage with stringent access controls and a flexible link expiration policy is crucial.

In summary, Prevent Direct Access S3 Integration is a solution for securely managing private assets stored in Amazon S3, with features tailored to e‑commerce, LMS, and membership sites that require precise access control and protection against unauthorized downloads.