What are some best practices for handling user authentication and cookies in PHP scripts?

Issue: Handling user authentication and cookies securely in PHP scripts is crucial to protect user data and prevent unauthorized access. Best practices include using secure hashing algorithms for storing passwords, implementing session management to handle user authentication, and setting secure cookie parameters to prevent attacks like session hijacking. 

// Example of securely handling user authentication and cookies in PHP

// Start the session
session_start();

// Check if the user is already authenticated
if(isset($_SESSION['user_id'])) {
    // User is authenticated
    echo "Welcome back, ".$_SESSION['username'];
} else {
    // User is not authenticated, redirect to login page
    header("Location: login.php");
    exit();
}

// Set a secure cookie with HttpOnly and Secure flags
setcookie("user_id", $_SESSION['user_id'], time() + 3600, "/", "", true, true);

Keywords

authentication cookies PHP scripts security session management

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