How do you use bcrypt for hashing passwords in PHP?

 

To hash passwords in PHP using the bcrypt algorithm, you can use the password_hash() function, and to verify hashed passwords, you can use the password_verify() function. Here's a step-by-step example:

1. Hashing a Password:

php

// User's password to be hashed
$password = "user_password";

// Hash the password using bcrypt
$hashedPassword = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_BCRYPT);

// Store $hashedPassword in your database

In the code above:

• We have the plain text password in the variable $password.
• We use the password_hash() function to hash the password using the PASSWORD_BCRYPT algorithm, which is a strong choice for password hashing.
• The resulting hash is stored in the variable $hashedPassword, and you should store this value in your database.

2. Verifying a Password:

php

// User's entered password for verification
$userEnteredPassword = "user_password";

// Hash retrieved from the database
$storedHashedPassword = "hash_retrieved_from_database";

// Verify if the entered password matches the stored hash
if (password_verify($userEnteredPassword, $storedHashedPassword)) {
    // Password is correct
    echo "Password is correct.";
} else {
    // Password is incorrect
    echo "Password is incorrect.";
}

In this code:

• We have the plain text password entered by the user in the variable $userEnteredPassword.
• We also have the hashed password retrieved from the database in the variable $storedHashedPassword.
• We use the password_verify() function to check if the entered password matches the stored hash. If it matches, the password is correct; otherwise, it's incorrect.

Make sure to store and retrieve the hashed password from your database securely. Using bcrypt with password_hash() and password_verify() is a recommended approach for securely managing user passwords in PHP.