What are the best practices for handling user authentication in PHP scripts to prevent unauthorized access?

To prevent unauthorized access in PHP scripts, it is essential to properly handle user authentication. This can be achieved by securely storing user credentials, using encryption for sensitive data, implementing strong password policies, and validating user input to prevent SQL injection and other security vulnerabilities. 

<?php

// Sample code for user authentication in PHP

// Check if the user is logged in
session_start();
if(!isset($_SESSION['user_id'])) {
    header("Location: login.php");
    exit();
}

// Additional code for user authentication can go here

?>

Keywords

password hashing session management CSRF protection secure cookies two-factor authentication

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