Hi Matt,

> I'm authenticating users and currently using the 
> PASSWORD() function of MySQL, however I realise 
> that this is still transmitting the password in
> plain text and therefore can be hacked.
> Is there a way of encrypting the information BEFORE 
> it is send to the server?

Yup, client-side, with Javascript.

I don't know what algorithm MySQL uses for PASSWORD(), but I personally use
MD5 hashing for storing encrypted passwords. 

Finding a JS implementation of MySQL's PASSWORD() is left as an exercise for
the reader. The docs may help, or you could switch to MD5 (for which there
is a JS algorithm at http://pajhome.org.uk/crypt/md5/md5src.html).

So you need an onsubmit handler for your form, which takes whatever's been
entered into the password field, hashes it, overwrites the password field
with the hash, and lets the form submission continue.

I do this on our Intranet but I also control UA configuration, so I *know*
everyone has JS enabled. Of course, if you're using this on a public site,
protected areas are permanently broken for anyone without JS. If you do it,
I'd suggest putting up a message that says "for your increased security,
javascript is required to access protected areas" or something, for
politeness' sake if nothing else.

Cheers
Jon

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