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Does Windows XP use salt when Hashing passwords?

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by omegafire 2 views

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I have been trying to find a clear answer to
this but most of the reading I found about this
is beyond my understanding at the moment.
Let me see if I am getting this right (I
realize this is a really dumbed down version),
the password string is put into a Hash Code and
then stored. Some operating systems implement
the salt as a extra security feature. Am I way
off with this or am I pretty close?

Does anyone know if Windows XP SP3 incorporates
a salt element when they hash passwords?

Thanks

7 replies

by thumbsup2

Even IF we knew, we wouldn't post the answer here. Try calling Microsoft Technical Support and ask that question. I'm sure they'll be willing to give away their secrets! ;)

by omegafire

Why would you not post the answer to my
question?

by boxfiddler Hot topic

and more pepper if you ask me. Windows does an awful lot of sneezing.

by Former member

!

by futureccna

I know this is a very old post, but just in case someone else stumbles across this post, I want to make sure they get the right answer.

No, Windows XP (and Vista, and 7) all don't salt their passwords before storing them.

I found these articles that talk about the salt, and windows passwords in general, in a way that makes sense:
http://cyber31337.com/quick/quick-password-salts/

http://cyber31337.com/security/windows-password-hashes/

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