> ----------
> From: David Rysdam[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: 03 June 1999 14:52
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Cc: '@MailingList: Linux-Newbie'
> Subject: Re: Password Encryption
>
> This is a very general answer, not specific to Unix, shadow passwords or
> MD5 (which is what I believe shadow uses).
>
> Modern encryption is based on problems that are only solvable in one
> direction. Prime factorization is a good example. It's very easy to
> take two (large) primes and multiply them together. But it is very
> difficult to take a (very large) composite number and factor it back to
> the two primes.
>
> I understand this, but I have trouble translating this info to how
> encrypting a string works. A string isn't a prime. The encrypted password
> in /etc/passwd isn't a number either.
> --
> Maurice
>
>
