Securing the Operator Panel

Is is possible to secure the operator panel so that a user must enter a username/password to view it?

If not, can I simply rename /var/www/html/panel to something else without breaking anything?

I have searched previous posts without finding a clear answer.

I am using version 1.8.1.2 of the distro with FreePBX FOP Framework 2.9.0.1. Is that not the latest?

Yes it is, take a look at FOP2

yum install fop2*

Can I install FOP2 without ruining FOP1? Can they co-exist on the system?

Yes, but I am not sure why you would want to.

They use different directories and ports.

The new FOP2 has that option.

I would upgrade to the new distro as it has FOP2 in the repo