Re: It only makes it easier to crack...
True, there should be protections against brute-force dictionary attacks, say, by increasing the delay between attempts. On the other hand, you need "defence in depth": if the password file is lifted through some sort of vulnerability, you need (at a minimum) to have those passwords salted and hashed. Not reusing passwords across sites is another sensible level of defence. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
