Whilst I read through the list of newly uploaded modules onto CPAN on a daily basis, it is rare that I see new modules which:

• Employ modules from the Astro:: namespace,
• Employ Apache access handlers in an interesting manner,
• Protect your web directories from werewolves, and,
• Inspire me to write module reviews.

Yet in my daily sojourn through the CPAN Uploads today, I found a module which incorporated all of the above - Acme::Apache::Werewolf. This module implements an Apache access handler which can be used to deny access to web directories based upon the phase of the moon, or more specifically, during the full moon, thereby protecting your web directories from maraudering werewolves.

Using this module, protecting files from werewolves is relatively straight-forward:

<Directory /fullmoon>
    PerlAccessHandler Acme::Apache::Werewolf
    PerlSetVar MoonLength 4
</directory>
[download]

The only configurable parameter associated with this module is MoonLength which determines the length in days over which the moon is considered to be in full. In the above configuration, the full moon is 4 days, which would be from day 12 through day 16 of the lunar cycle. And in the words of the module author, it is wise to err on the side of caution and make this too large, rather than too small and risk the wrath of werewolves.