Understanding Bcrypt Hashing
Storing plaintext passwords in a database is a major security risk. If the database is compromised, user credentials are instantly exposed. To protect user data, passwords must be cryptographically hashed.
Bcrypt is a key derivation function designed specifically for secure password storage. Based on the Blowfish cipher, it introduces a "work factor" (salt rounds) that determines how computationally expensive the hash is to calculate. This slow speed is intentional, making brute-force and rainbow table attacks extremely difficult.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Use this Tool
- Enter the password string you want to secure in the input field.
- Select your desired Salt Rounds (work factor). We recommend using the default of 10 rounds for a balance of security and speed.
- Click Generate Hash.
- Copy the secure hash output to save it in your database.
What are Salt Rounds?
The work factor (salt rounds) is an integer representing the number of iterations of the hashing algorithm:
- Higher rounds make the hash exponentially harder to crack.
- However, higher rounds also increase server verification time. A cost factor of 10-12 is standard for modern authentication systems.