By default, the Adaptive Server ADO.NET Data Provider sends plain text passwords over the network to Adaptive Server for authentication. However, the Adaptive Server ADO.NET Data Provider also supports symmetrical and asymmetrical password encryption, and you can use this feature to change the default behavior and encrypt your passwords before they are sent over the network.
The symmetrical encryption mechanism uses the same key to encrypt and decrypt the password whereas an asymmetrical encryption mechanism uses one key (the public key) to encrypt the password and a different key (the private key) to decrypt the password. Because the private key is not shared across the network, the asymmetrical encryption is considered more secure than symmetrical encryption. When password encryption is enabled, and the server supports asymmetric encryption, this format is used instead of symmetric encryption.
When using asymmetrical encryption, you may experience
a slight delay in login time due to the additional processing time
required for asymmetrical encryption.
