Servers: Apache AllowOverride

The main goal of AllowOverride is for the manager of main configuration files of apache (the one found in

/etc/apache2/

mainly) to decide which part of the configuration may be dynamically altered on a per-path basis by applications.

If you are not the administrator of the server, you depend on the

AllowOverride

Level that theses admins allows for you. So that they can prevent you to alter some important security settings;

If you are the master apache configuration manager you should always use

AllowOverride

None and transfer all google_based example you find, based on

.htaccess

files to Directory sections on the main configuration files. As a

.htaccess

content for a

.htaccess

file in

/my/path/to/a/directory

is the same as a

<Directory my/path/to/a/directory>

instruction, except that the

.htaccess

dynamic per-HTTP-request configuration alteration is something slowing down your web server. Always prefer a static configuration without

.htaccess

checks (and you will also avoid security attacks by

.htaccess

alterations).

By the way in your example you use <Directory> and this will always be wrong, Directory instructions are always containing a path, like <Directory /> or

<Directory C:>

or

<Directory /my/path/to/a/directory>

. And of course this cannot be put in a

.htaccess

as a

.htaccess

is like a Directory instruction but in a file present in this directory. Of course you cannot alter

AllowOverride

in a

.htaccess

as this instruction is managing the security level of

.htaccess

files.