What should web programmers know about cryptography?

Posted by davidhaskins on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by davidhaskins
Published on 2011-02-24T13:59:53Z Indexed on 2011/02/24 15:32 UTC
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Should programmers who build websites/web applications understand cryptography? I have no idea how most crypographic algorithms work, and I really don't understand the differences between md5/des/aes/etc. Have any of you found any need for an in-depth understanding of cryptography?

I haven't needed it, but I wonder if perhaps I'm missing something. I've used salt + md5 hash to encrypt passwords, and I tell webservers to use SSL. Beyond that, I can't say I've used much else, nor can I say with any certainty how secure these methods are. I only use them because other people claim they are safe.

Have you ever found a need to use cryptography in web programming aside from these two simple examples?

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