How to create a "members' area" in PHP?

[imajeenyus]

Hello,

I recently bought vB 3.0.9 and have installed it on a test website. It runs great. I also want to create a separate members' area, let me explain.

I want to somehow password-protect an entire folder on the website. I could then post files etc there that only members would have access to. I thought on using .htaccess files but apparantly they become rather slow after a few hundred users have been added. I also want the users to be able to use their vBulletin login details to access the members area. Is it possible to write a PHP script to do this? Ideally, the PHP script would check up the same MySQL database that vB uses.

Actually, I came across a link on the web that seemed to be exactly what I needed: http://php.resourceindex.com/detail/03892.html but the site isn't available

I'd really appreciate any help with this!

Lindsay Wilson