The $1$ part of the hash is purely to indicate that MD5 was the encryption algorithm used. The salt used is the first 12 characters, so from "$1$" to the next "

The $1$ part of the hash is purely to indicate that MD5 was the encryption algorithm used. The salt used is the first 12 characters, so from "$1$" to the next "$" For example, for "$1$JVf3ep..$uvo634QwxDsAuHMOZlKws1:riprip" the salt is "$1$JVf3ep..$" (although those periods may just be padding, IIRC).