What is the difference between Enable and Enable Secret Password?

Enable and enable secret passwords are two kinds of security commands used by some Cisco devices. While you might be familiar with the word "password," the terms enable and enable secret might be a little bit technical to understand. However, the enable security command allows you to set up a password, but it is not an encrypted one.

When you check where the password is stored, you will always see it in a plain text format without any encryption. The enable secret password, when it is entered, will be automatically encrypted, thereby providing a more secure form of security.

Both enable and enable secret passwords can be seen when you check the settings of your device; however, you will only be able to see the enable password, while you will not see the enable secret password because it has been encrypted. While the enable secret password is more secure than the enable password, it does not mean the enable secret password can't be cracked, though it takes knowledge to do that.

Cisco devices have two main ways to protecting the data. The way they protect them is through two different types of passwords. The first is enable password command. This type of password allows the password to be stored in the format of plain text.

Along with that, this type of password is not encrypted. The second type of password that Cisco devices have is enable secret password command. This password differs from the enable password command in that it is encrypted.

The encryption used is MD5. Out of the two, the enable secret password is better protected and harder to crack than the enable password command.

On Cisco devices, there are a plethora of ways that you can protect resources by utilizing passwords. The common ways to accomplish this is through the enable password command and enable secret password command. The critical difference between the two is encryption. Enable provides the password that you choose and places it in a plain text format and is not encrypted.

Enable secret password, on the other hand, is encrypted with MDS. Enable secret is the better way to go. Cisco allows you to see the stored passwords, as they are part of the configuration file. When you look at them, you will see the actual password created by enable secret. It will be in it’s encrypted form.

There are two common ways of protecting resources through the use of passwords on Cisco devices. The two ways of doing this are, through enable password and enable secret password. The major difference between the enable and the enable secret is the encryption. With the enable password command, the password you give would be stored on a plain text format, and it is also not encrypted. While for the enable secret password command, the password is encrypted using MD5.

In a simpler sense, the most secure way is the enable secret command. The enable secret is far safer than using the enable password command. The enable secret command is said to be uncrackable, but then it is easy to crack encrypted password to enable secret command by searching video and tutorials online. So to crack the encrypted password of the enable secret command, you just have to know what you're doing.