PBKDF2 Hash + Verify

PBKDF2 (RFC 8018) applies HMAC to a password and salt repeatedly to deliberately slow down computation — it's the oldest of the standardized algorithms for password hashing and encryption key derivation.

How to use it

• Derive: enter a password, pick an HMAC algorithm (SHA-1/256/384/512), and set the iteration count to get a derived key of the requested length.
• Verify: paste a password and an existing PBKDF2 hash to check whether they match, without recomputing it manually.
• More iterations means slower, more secure computation — tune the value to your server's response-time budget.

Common uses

• Deriving an encryption key from a user's password for a file container or a custom protocol.
• Checking a PBKDF2 implementation for compatibility across programming languages (the parameters must match exactly).
• Hashing passwords in systems that require a FIPS-compliant algorithm (PBKDF2 is NIST-approved).

Things to keep in mind

Unlike bcrypt and Argon2, PBKDF2 isn't memory-hard — it only requires CPU time, so it's less resistant to attacks on GPUs with many parallel compute units.

The recommended iteration count rises over time in NIST and OWASP guidance as hardware gets faster — check against current recommendations periodically.