How Are Modern Windows Login Passwords Stored?

How Are Modern Windows Login Passwords Stored?

When it comes to securing our digital information, passwords play a crucial role. In the case of Windows operating systems, the passwords are not stored in plain text for security reasons. Instead, modern Windows login passwords are stored in the form of hashed values.

Hashing is a process that takes the original plain text password and runs it through a specific algorithm to generate a unique string of characters, known as a hash. This hash is then stored in the Windows system, rather than the actual password.

Microsoft Windows uses the NT LAN Manager (NTLM) hashing algorithm to store user passwords. This algorithm creates a hash of the user's password by taking the original password, converting it into Unicode, and then performing various operations on it to generate the hash value.

It is important to store passwords in hashed format because it helps enhance security. Even if hackers manage to access the stored hashes, it is exceedingly challenging to reverse engineer them back into the original passwords.

Overall, modern Windows login passwords are stored in a hashed format using the NTLM algorithm, ensuring a higher level of security for user accounts.