When a password is placed in plaintext in an application’s settings or configuration file, password management concerns arise. A programmer can try to solve the password management problem by disguising the password with an encoding function, such as base 64 encoding, although this does not safeguard the password sufficiently.
Storing a plaintext password in a configuration file grants access to the password-protected resource to anybody who can read the file. Developers may assume that they cannot protect the program against someone with access to the settings, yet this mindset makes an attacker’s work simpler. Passwords should never be saved in plaintext, according to good password management practices.
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