[TYPO3] Apache Password Protection and RealURL

[Jeff Segars]

I've recently encountered some problems with password protected 
directories (via Apache) and mod_rewrite rules for RealURL.

When there is not an .htaccess file in place, password protection works 
as expected and I am prompted to enter a username and password when 
accessing the directory. When I add the .htaccess file back in and 
enable RealURL, my TYPO3 generated 404 page is immediately displayed 
when trying to access this password protected directory.

I'm using the default .htaccess file and I've tried adding my password 
protected directory into the list of directories that mod_rewrite should 
not rewrite but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

> RewriteRule ^(typo3|typo3temp|typo3conf|t3lib|tslib|fileadmin|uploads|showpic.php|protected)/ - [L]

Interestingly enough, if I modify the .htaccess file to pass requests 
through a nonexistent index2.php file rather than TYPO3's index.php 
file, then the password protection works again....but obviously the rest 
of the site does not :)

Has anyone else encountered similar behavior?

Thanks,
Jeff