Why Plain SHA-256 Fails for Passwords
Understand rainbow tables, brute-force speed, and salt.
Welcome
Storing passwords securely is one of the most misunderstood topics in security. In this lesson we understand why fast hashes like SHA-256 are catastrophically wrong for passwords.
What Happens When DBs Leak
Database breaches happen constantly. In 2024, RockYou2024 leaked 10 billion passwords. If your users' passwords are stored recoverable, attackers will recover them.
All lessons in this course
- Why Plain SHA-256 Fails for Passwords
- bcrypt: Algorithm & Cost Factor
- Argon2: Memory-Hard Password Hashing
- PBKDF2 & Choosing the Right Algorithm