PHP and MySQL for Dynamic Web Sites: Visual QuickPro Guide

Password Management

The final aspect of the public side of this site is the management of passwords. There are two processes to consider: resetting a forgotten password and changing an existing one.

Resetting a password

It inevitably happens that people forget their log-in passwords for Web sites, so having a contingency plan for these occasions is important. One option would be to have the user email the administrator when this occurs, but administering a site is difficult enough without this extra hassle. Thus, I will make a script whose purpose is to reset a forgotten password.

Because the passwords stored in the database are encrypted using MySQL’s PASSWORD() function, there’s no way to retrieve an unencrypted version. The alternative is ...