LinuxQuestions.org - Help me understand Apache access controls

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Help me understand Apache access controls

I have the following section in my Slackware 14's default Apache configuration:

Code:

# Deny access to the entirety of your server's filesystem. You must

# explicitly permit access to web content directories in other

# <Directory> blocks below.

#

<Directory />

    AllowOverride none

    Require all denied

</Directory>

I thought that specifically allowing access in each <Virtualhost *:80> directive (through a <Directory /path> directive) would override that general block, but it doesn't. I can't access any site unless I comment that section out, or I replace it with:

Code:

<Directory />

    AllowOverride all

    Order Deny,Allow

    Allow from all

</Directory>

So what's going on here?
I do like the idea of blocking everything by default and only allowing access to specific folders, but how do I implement it?
With that first section commented out, everything works, but I'm also open to all sort of exploits, right?

AllowOverride directive allow overriding through .htaccess file inside directory. Why you create directory section for directories which need to be allowed

<directory path_of_directory>
Order Deny,Allow
Allow from all
</directory>

OR

<directory path_of_directory>
Require all granted
</directory>

Thanks