Understanding Digest Authentication

Within a Windows 2000 domain server, digest authentication corrects the plain-text password–submission deficiency of basic authentication. To use digest authentication, you must have a Windows 2000 domain server.

Support for digest authentication began with HTTP 1.1. When the server challenges a client program (normally the browser) to authenticate the user, the server sends the client program information it can combine with the username and password to create a special result that programmers refer to as a one-way hash. Rather than sending the username and password information to the server in plain text, the client program will send the hash value. Programmers refer to the hash value as a one-way hash because it is difficult (nearly impossible) for a hacker who intercepts the hash result to use the value to produce the original username and password information. Because the server knows the original hash value, the server can extract the username and password information from the hash result.

If you are using a Windows 2000 domain server, you can use the Authentication Mode dialog box to select digest authentication.