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ELI5: How does hashing/encryption algorithms keep your password safe? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 month ago by Gonzako@lemmy.world to c/explainlikeimfive@lemmy.world
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I know you gotta store the passwords hashed but doesn't that just move the goalposts? How come someone can't use the hashed end result to get into the service it was used for?

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[-] athairmor@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Because, the hashing function is used before comparing.

  • Stored hash is “5f4dcc3b5aa765d61d8327deb882cf99”,
  • user sends “password”,
  • system runs the hash on “password” and gets “5f4dcc3b5aa765d61d8327deb882cf99”,
  • it matches, access is granted.

If the user sends “5f4dcc3b5aa765d61d8327deb882cf99” the system runs the hash on that and gets “696d29e0940a4957748fe3fc9efd22a3”. Those don’t match. No access.

this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2025
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