What are the best practices for securely storing and handling user passwords in PHP, such as using encryption functions like md5()?

To securely store and handle user passwords in PHP, it is recommended to use a strong hashing algorithm like bcrypt or Argon2 instead of encryption functions like md5(). These algorithms are specifically designed for password hashing and provide a higher level of security by incorporating salt and multiple rounds of hashing.

// Hashing a password using bcrypt
$password = "user_password";
$hashed_password = password_hash($password, PASSWORD_BCRYPT);

// Verifying a password
$entered_password = "user_password";
if (password_verify($entered_password, $hashed_password)) {
    echo "Password is correct";
} else {
    echo "Password is incorrect";
}