Cannot access admin area after .htaccess directory - gives me page not found

I read the security recommendations and saw I should .htaccess password protect the /admin directory. I tried doing this with the protect directory option on my host (Site5) but when I try to access the /admin it give me the standard 404 page not found. Anyone have any ideas on this? Thank you!

Heres what my .htaccess looks like:
AuthType Basic

AuthName "Admin Area"

AuthUserFile "/home/sitename/.htpasswds/admin/passwd"

require valid-user

Anyone have any ideas?

If you used a feature from your host's control panel in order to protect the folder, perhaps you should be asking your host for specific assistance.

At a cursory glance, the content you posted appears to not contain any obvious syntactical errors. But that doesn't vouch for its suitability for your particular server configuration.

Renaming your /admin folder is far more likely to provide you security benefits faster than using the .htaccess to protect things.

I am having the exact same issue on a different host (hostgator). renaming the admin directory is a good idea though and I'll try that. Are you using the SEF url add-on for Zen cart? I'd like to know so that if you don't I won't waste time trying to fix it.

Thanks

After hours of searching i found this simple solution

add this to the very beginning of you .htaccess file:

ErrorDocument 401 "Unauthorized"

computer repairs and web design chorlton, manchester