Which hashing algorithm is widely used for securing passwords?

The hashing algorithm widely used for securing passwords is SHA-256, not MD5. SHA-256 is part of the SHA-2 family of cryptographic hash functions and is known for its strength and security. It produces a 256-bit hash value, which makes it difficult for attackers to reverse-engineer the original password from the hash. This level of security is essential for password storage to help protect against common attacks such as brute force or rainbow table attacks.

MD5, on the other hand, was once popular but is now considered weak due to its vulnerabilities to collision attacks, where two different inputs produce the same hash output. This has rendered it less suitable for secure password storage in modern applications.

AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) and Blowfish are both encryption algorithms, not hashing algorithms. They are used for encrypting data to keep it confidential rather than for hashing passwords, which is aimed at producing a fixed-size representation of the data that is not reversible. This is critical to ensure that even if the stored hashes are compromised, the original passwords remain secure.