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Glite Dictionary
🧂 Adding salt 🔐 Adding random data
salting

salting

7.7
Adding random data to a password before turning it into a secure code to stop easy attacks
  • noun
  • /ˈsɔltɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : salting
  • During the security audit, she recommended salting and hashing every password with a unique random value.

Examples

  • The process of salting passwords enhances security.

  • Modern authentication libraries enable automatic salting so developers do not implement it incorrectly.

  • The company began salting user passwords to make their stored hashes much harder to crack.

  • Many websites use salting to protect user data.

  • The practice of salting is crucial for making stored passwords more secure against unauthorized access.

  • Using salting in data protection adds random values to the hashes, rendering rainbow table attacks ineffective.

  • Many developers advocate for salting as it enhances the security of user passwords and personal data.

How Secure

salting
  • Specialized
7.7
salt
  • Specialized
3 6.5

Surface Forms

salting singular
saltings plural

Morphology

salting = salt (semi-transparent) = salt + ing

The word is formed regularly from the verb 'salt', but the computing sense is a specialized metaphorical extension rather than the everyday action of adding salt.

Etymology

Salting in computing takes its name from the cooking idea of salt ('salt'): a small, unique 'salt' is mixed into each password before it is turned into a secret code. A helpful way to remember this is that, just like adding salt helps protect and change food, salting makes each saved password different and much harder for hackers to break.