Hash Algorithms for Password Storage
Learn about hashing passwords securely. Understand SHA-256, bcrypt, and why you should never store plain text passwords.
Proper password hashing is critical for application security. Never store passwords in plain text.
Why Hash Passwords?
Hashing converts passwords to fixed-length strings that cannot be reversed. Even if your database is compromised, attackers cant recover original passwords.
Recommended Algorithms
Use bcrypt, scrypt, or Argon2 for password hashing - not SHA-256 alone. These algorithms include salting and are designed to be computationally expensive.
Salt Your Hashes
Always use unique salts for each password. This prevents rainbow table attacks and ensures identical passwords produce different hashes.
Summary
Explore different hash algorithms with our Hash Generator tool to understand how hashing works.