Password Encryption

Password Encryption

People don't usually discuss password encryption, because there seems to be no options to
discuss – passwords are, by definition, encrypted. While this is usually true, encryption is not a
simple yes or no proposition.
The effectiveness of encryption, usually described as its strength, ranges from very weak to extremely robust.

At   its  weakest,  we   have   passwords   that   have   been   simply  encoded.  This   produces   a
password that is not readable directly, but, given the key, we could easily translate it  using a
computer, pen and paper, or a plastic decoder ring from a cereal box. An example of this is
the ROT13 cypher. ROT13 replaces every letter in a text with the letter that is 13 places away
from it in the alphabet. For example 'ABC' becomes 'NOP'.

Even when using algorithms that can more accurately be called encryption, the encryption is
weak, if the key used to generate it is weak. Using ROT13 as an example, if you consider the 13
place differential   to be  the key,   then ROT13 has  an extremely weak key.

 ROT13 can bestrengthened by using a different key. You could use ROT10, replacing each letter with the one  ten places   forward,  or  you could use ROT-2,   replacing each  letter  with  the one  two places before it. You could strengthen it even more, by varying the differential, such as ROTpi,
where the first letter is shifted 3 places;
 the second, 1 place; the third, 4 places; the fourth, 1 place; and so on, using pi (3.14159265...) to provide a constantly varying differential.

Because of these possible variations, when you are encrypting any type of information, you
must  be sure  that  you are using a  reliable method of  encryption and  that   the key your contribution to the encryption – will provide you with a robust result.
You must also remember that a good system of encryption is useless without good passwords,
just as good passwords are useless without good encryption