help implementing a user and password page

Thanx for taking the time to read this post.

What I want to so is to restrict acces into a page, I was thinkin something as simple as this, having a Database in Mysql with fields user and pw use a kinda command like "where user='$user' and pword='$pword'" if the two fields match send the user to a webpage like admin.html, and the last thing how can I encript or hide the displayed url or page? like www.example.com/ or symbols etc... so a user cant cunsult the page jumping the loggin page?

Thanx allot, by the way, Im starting at this php and mysql, so please try to be the most explicit Ill apreciate it.

If you're using Apache, then you can restrict
access to a directory using htaccess. Look up
the docs on www.apache.org for details.

If you want to ``restrict access to a particular page'', then you should be _printing_ out the page via CGI/PHP/etc when the person is authenticated.

If you want to store the username/passwd in
MySQL db, then look up mysql_auth module at modules.apache.org.

Thanx chyrag:

But its too complicated for me the way that you toldme I dont wanna make a security loggin for the CIA Im using php and mysql and I wass loking for something as simple as if user and pw in the db match send to the desired url if not well, display the error msg.

thanx anyway by the way I dont have the htaccess in my machine and im running apache in win98