Tracy, thanks for the reply. The way I like to handle passwords does not need decryption, as all I want to do is checking the hashed string of the user input (in the password textbox) against the hashed string in the table.
If the user forgets it's password the only way to access the system is to ask the administrator for a new one.
So, as Fred and you have pointed that there is no way to get the original string out of a hasded one, I will change passwords to "hashes" instead of "encryptions".

Thanks to both of you,
Javier.

>Using MD5 for security is much more secure than any encryption algorithm. Since MD5 creates a one way hash, it is not really suitable for situations where decryption back to the source is required. One-way hashing is mostly used for comparing a message that is decrypted against a public key (128 bit MD5 string) to verify that the messages have not been tampered with in anyway.
>
>For more information on MD5, visit RSA at http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/faq/3-6-6.html.
>
>HTH,
>Tracy
>
>
>>Hi all,
>>
>>I use encryption to store users passwords in tables (I encrypt the password with the password itself as the key). I wonder if I store the MD5 or SHA1 or anyother hashed string of the password is as safe as encrypting it; for me it's easier to use hashing as I can do direct comparisons.
>>
>>Regards,
>>Javier B.