I am trying to create a private files directory where I can put files that will then not be accessible to anonymous users.
I find directions for this and have tried to follow them carefully.
1) I added this to my settings.php
$settings['file_private_path'] = '../private';
2) I created a .htaccess file inside that directory. (The status report is happy with it.)
3) I have set permissions as:
drwx------
Again, the status report is happy with this.