What is adding a value to the end of a password called?
Adding a value to the end of a password to create a different password hash is called:
Community Votes
100% of anonymous learners picked answer A. Votes are pick records left by other test-takers — they are not the verified answer.
Community Insight
The question tests the definition of salting versus key stretching or steganography, with the common trap being confusion between these cryptographic concepts.
Salting involves appending random data to a password before hashing to ensure unique hashes for identical passwords, preventing rainbow table attacks.
Candidates often confuse salting with key stretching (like PBKDF2), which increases computational cost rather than just ensuring uniqueness.
Community Discussion (8 comments)
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Expert Analysis
Why the Answer Is Correct
Salting is the process of adding a unique, random string of data (the salt) to a password before it is hashed. This ensures that even if two users have the same password, their resulting hashes will be different, effectively neutralizing rainbow table attacks.Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Key stretching involves iteratively applying a hash function to increase the time required to crack a password, not just appending data. Steganography is the practice of hiding information within other media, unrelated to password hashing. An MD5 checksum is a specific hash algorithm used for integrity verification, not a method for securing passwords against precomputed tables.Community Comment Notes
The community overwhelmingly selected Salting, with users confirming "A. Salting" as the correct term for this operation. Comments like "Now we are salting!!!" reflect the straightforward nature of this definition-based question.Exam Strategy
Focus on distinguishing between password storage techniques: salting (uniqueness), hashing (integrity/one-way), and key stretching (difficulty). Memorize the specific purpose of each to avoid confusion on exam day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn't this key stretching?
Key stretching adds iterations to make cracking slower, while salting adds random data to make hashes unique.
Does salting hide the password content?
No, salting ensures unique hashes for identical passwords but does not encrypt or hide the original password itself.