Password 101 (part 1): hashes and salts

What a password isn't, or at least really shouldn't be, is some kind of secret word or phrase that is simply compared against a table of usernames in a login database. Such plaintext systems are about as secure as a chocolate padlock on a furnace door. Even a login system whereby those passwords are encrypted isn't much better, although many people assume they are safe as houses. Breaches across the years have proven how insecure any system which relies purely on reversible algorithm encryption really is.