What File Under The /Etc Folder Contains The Hashed Passwords For A Local System?

What File Under The /Etc Folder Contains the Hashed Passwords for A Local System?

Answer:

The file in the Etc folder contains hashed passwords for a local system is shadow.

Hashed password:

Hashed is directional encryption. It means that from hash you cannot obtain the original text back. It is suggested to store the security information and passwords in the hashed format in this way the security system can verify the password entered is correct or not. By hashing the password, it is difficult to steal information. For example, you have a Facebook account. Facebook never tells your password. It only verifies whether the entered password is correct or not. This Facebook, application save your password so when you enter the password it can match either it is the same as you entered already. It can hash because the password can be copied.

Let’s assume your password is “Batman” when you run it on hashing algorithm it gives random strings like “Bruce”. Now Facebook remembers only Bruce and forgets Batman. When you entered the password “batman” Facebook starts hashing and matches the result is “Bruce” or not. On the base of this, it gives access or denies you. So, it is directional encryption. It cannot be decrypted. If your Facebook is hacked by someone and get the password file but cannot be able to look correct hash for that password. He will be stuck in random-looking hashes.

Shadow file:

Shadow is also known as shadow password file. It is responsible for storing one-way encrypted user passwords and it gives access only to the users. It is a system file in Linux. It avoids the access of unauthorized users from entering into the system. Sysadmins and developers need to eliminate and search malfunctioning elements from user accounts.

Types of hashing:

Hashing has many different types like RipeMD, hash, and tiger. MD5, SHA-2, and CRC32 are the common type of hashing. MD5 is responsible for encoding the information and putting it into code of 128-bit fingerprint. It is mostly used in Etc shadow files. Login passwords are stored and hashed in Linux distributions with the assistance of the MD5 logarithm.