Editing S/KEY (section)

==Password generation==
The ''server'' is the computer that will perform the authentication.

[[File:Skey password generation.svg|thumb|280px|S/KEY password generation]]
# This step begins with a secret key ''W''. This secret can either be provided by the user, or can be generated by a computer. Either way, if this secret is disclosed, then the security of S/KEY is compromised.
# A [[cryptographic hash function]] ''H'' is applied ''n'' times to ''W'', thereby producing a [[hash chain]] of ''n'' one-time passwords. The passwords are the results of the application of the cryptographic hash function: 
#:''H''(''W''), ''H''(''H''(''W'')), ..., ''H''<sup>''n''</sup>(''W'').
# The initial secret ''W'' is discarded.
# The user is provided with the ''n'' passwords, printed out in reverse order:
#:''H''<sup>''n''</sup>(''W''), ''H''<sup>''n''−1</sup>(''W''), ..., ''H''(''H''(''W'')), ''H''(''W'').
# The passwords ''H''(''W''), ''H''(''H''(''W'')), ..., ''H''<sup>''n''−1</sup>(''W'') are discarded from the server. Only the password ''H''<sup>''n''</sup>(''W''), the one at the top of the user's list, is stored on the server.