What are the best practices for managing user passwords in MySQL databases accessed through PHP applications?

When managing user passwords in MySQL databases accessed through PHP applications, it is essential to securely store passwords by hashing them using a strong algorithm like bcrypt. This ensures that even if the database is compromised, the passwords are not easily accessible. Additionally, it is crucial to never store plain text passwords in the database and to always use prepared statements to prevent SQL injection attacks. 

// Hashing user password before storing it in the database
$password = $_POST['password'];
$hashed_password = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_BCRYPT);

// Storing hashed password in the database
$stmt = $pdo->prepare("INSERT INTO users (username, password) VALUES (:username, :password)");
$stmt->bindParam(':username', $_POST['username']);
$stmt->bindParam(':password', $hashed_password);
$stmt->execute();

Keywords

password hashing password salting bcrypt password_verify SQL injection

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