Building a password hasher in Node.js

Hashing is a cryptographic technique used to map data into a fixed-length string, serving primarily for authentication purposes. This tutorial outlines the creation of a password hasher in Node.js using the salt hashing technique, where a random string (salt) is combined with a password before being hashed with a cryptographic algorithm. The guide provides step-by-step instructions on setting up a Node.js environment, creating functions to generate salts, hash passwords, and compare hashed values, and integrating these functions into a simple Express server with MongoDB for storing user credentials. While the tutorial demonstrates the basic implementation of salting and hashing, it advises against using this method in production, suggesting more robust solutions like Bcrypt. Additionally, the tutorial highlights the use of tools like LogRocket for monitoring and improving user experiences in web applications.