Why is salting important in hashing?

Why is salting important in hashing?

Salting is crucial in hashing because it adds a unique value to each password before hashing, making it harder for attackers to use precomputed tables (like rainbow tables) to crack passwords.

How does salting improve security?

Salting improves security by ensuring that even if two users have the same password, their hashed values will be different due to the unique salt added to each password.

Can you give an example of how salting works?

Sure! If two users have the password 'password123', and we add a unique salt like 'abc' for the first user and 'xyz' for the second, the hashes will be different: hash('abc' + 'password123') and hash('xyz' + 'password123').

What happens if a salt is not used?

Without a salt, identical passwords will produce the same hash, making it easier for attackers to crack multiple accounts at once.

Are there any downsides to using salts?

The main downside is that it requires additional storage for the salt values, but the security benefits far outweigh this concern.