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We considered using scrypt, but we had more experience using bcrypt. Ok, fair enough... The debate over which algorithm is better is still open, and most secu

We considered using scrypt, but we had more experience using bcrypt. Ok, fair enough... The debate over which algorithm is better is still open, and most security experts agree that scrypt and bcrypt provide similar protections. ... wait, what?

tptacek 10y ago
They're badly expressing the idea that there may be only marginal benefits to optimizing the genus of password hashes used, so long as you're using a serious construction designed for storing (or generating keys from) passwords. The debate over whether scrypt is better than bcrypt is not really still open. The debate over whether the difference matters that much in practice might be. For what it's worth: for new systems, I use scrypt. But if someone asked, and they didn't have a very specialized application, I'd tell them that switching to scrypt from bcrypt, or even PBKDF2, would be a waste of money.
- CiPHPerCoder 10y ago
  Teach the controversy! Even if there isn't one. > But if someone asked, and they didn't have a very specialized application, I'd tell them that switching to scrypt from bcrypt, or even PBKDF2, would be a waste of money. Argon2/scrypt/bcrypt/PBKDF2 are fine. I think PBKDF2 is the worst choice, but is still acceptable. The real problem is the prevalence of md5($password) e.g. in software like Piwik.
- cperciva 10y ago
  Right, if they had stopped at "we used bcrypt because we're familiar with it and we think it's good enough for our purposes", I wouldn't have said anything. But the second sentence, claiming that there's an open debate about which provides more protection...
  - tptacek 10y ago
    Yeah, sorry, I should have led with "I agree with you". No part of this post inspired confidence with me. I use Dropbox to store and share screenshots on Twitter, and try not to use it for anything else.
    - cperciva 10y ago
      I use Dropbox to store and share screenshots on Twitter Wildly off-topic, but I just upload screenshots to twitter directly and let them figure out the hosting. Is your usage of dropbox for this simply a legacy of when twitter didn't have support for uploading images?
      - tptacek 10y ago
        Probably, yes.

tptacek 10y ago

They're badly expressing the idea that there may be only marginal benefits to optimizing the genus of password hashes used, so long as you're using a serious construction designed for storing (or generating keys from) passwords. The debate over whether scrypt is better than bcrypt is not really still open. The debate over whether the difference matters that much in practice might be. For what it's worth: for new systems, I use scrypt. But if someone asked, and they didn't have a very specialized application, I'd tell them that switching to scrypt from bcrypt, or even PBKDF2, would be a waste of money.

CiPHPerCoder 10y ago
Teach the controversy! Even if there isn't one. > But if someone asked, and they didn't have a very specialized application, I'd tell them that switching to scrypt from bcrypt, or even PBKDF2, would be a waste of money. Argon2/scrypt/bcrypt/PBKDF2 are fine. I think PBKDF2 is the worst choice, but is still acceptable. The real problem is the prevalence of md5($password) e.g. in software like Piwik.
cperciva 10y ago
Right, if they had stopped at "we used bcrypt because we're familiar with it and we think it's good enough for our purposes", I wouldn't have said anything. But the second sentence, claiming that there's an open debate about which provides more protection...
- tptacek 10y ago
  Yeah, sorry, I should have led with "I agree with you". No part of this post inspired confidence with me. I use Dropbox to store and share screenshots on Twitter, and try not to use it for anything else.
  - cperciva 10y ago
    I use Dropbox to store and share screenshots on Twitter Wildly off-topic, but I just upload screenshots to twitter directly and let them figure out the hosting. Is your usage of dropbox for this simply a legacy of when twitter didn't have support for uploading images?
    - tptacek 10y ago
      Probably, yes.