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Node.js Authentication: Best Practices and Key Strategies
- This article showcases secure login strategies for Node.js, implementing multiple security techniques to safeguard user credentials, sessions, and account access.
- Passwords are hashed using a strong hashing algorithm (e.g., bcrypt) along with a random salt for each password. This ensures that even if the hashed password is compromised, it cannot easily be reversed into the original password.
- JWT (JSON Web Token) is used for token-based authentication, allowing stateless authentication between the client and server. Users receive a JWT upon login, which is then sent with every subsequent request in the Authorization header.
- A refresh token is used to obtain new access tokens without requiring the user to log in again. This ensures a smooth experience for users without compromising security.
- Store sensitive tokens such as refresh tokens in HTTP-only cookies. This prevents JavaScript from accessing the tokens, protecting them from XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attacks.
- JWT tokens do not have built-in revocation. To invalidate tokens (e.g., on logout), JWT blacklisting is used. A database or Redis is used to store invalidated tokens until they expire.
- Ensure that only one session is active for a user at any given time. When a new session is created, invalidate previous tokens or sessions.
- Sessions expire after a period of inactivity. Implement a session expiration timer to automatically log out users who are inactive for a predefined time.
- Prevent brute force attacks by locking out accounts after several failed login attempts. Implement time-based lockout, where accounts are temporarily locked after repeated failures.
- Users can reset their passwords through a secure process. Use a time-limited, one-time token (OTP) sent to the user's email for the reset process. Ensure the reset token expires after a short period.
- Strong password policies help prevent unauthorized access and minimize the risk of brute-force attacks, dictionary attacks, and credential stuffing.
- User-specific token revocation is the process of invalidating a single user’s tokens without affecting others.
- Configure CORS to restrict which origins are allowed to access the API. Only trusted domains should be allowed to send requests to your server.
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