How Do Passwords Work?
In today’s world technology is key. In many cases the user accesses this technology through the use of passwords. Especially with business applications and storage moving to cloud-based systems, passwords are more important than ever. But how do they work and what makes a strong password?
Most people are more than familiar with Password Authentication, though they may not know it. You can find it being used on computer networks, wireless networks, remote login systems, operating systems, and database management. To access these systems and devices a user must have an identifier (ID) and a password.
In a cloud-based environment, the user would put their ID and password into a remote login server and the remote login server would check the ID and password against the verification table. This verification table then tells the server which rights, if any, the user has over the system and/or devices they are logging in to.
PAP stands for Password Authentication Protocol and is one of the simplest authentication methods when it comes to passwords. It doesn’t encrypt any data, but instead sends the username and password to the authentication server as plain text. The security behind this process lies in the MD5 hash algorithm constructed by both the server and the client. This particular authentication method isn’t very strong, since passwords are sent over with no encryption and there is no restriction over the amount of attempts a user can perform.
This is why a strong password is essential when protecting your business data. The longer and more complex your password is the better.
If you’re concerned about some of the passwords your employees are creating to access business documents don’t hesitate to give us a call at (216) 586-4665. We’d love to share some of the methods we use to create strong passwords, as well as the best ways to store and remember them.