Kenneth Wymore (3/23/2010)

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Not to be too picky but if cell level encryption was available since SQLServer 7 wouldn't SQLServer 7 have been the correct answer? Even if it was undocumented and poorly performing, it was still technically available, correct?

vk-kirov (3/23/2010)

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PWDENCRYPT is a hash function, which means it's a one-way function. Once hashed, data cannot be restored. With cell-level encryption, data can be both encrypted and decrypted.

Ric Sierra (3/24/2010)

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Is a semantic issue. The question is open, looking for the SQL Server version where Encryption (call as you wish: Hash function, two way encryption, masking, obfuscating, base64) can be done.

Matt Miller (#4) (4/1/2010)

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Sorry - i have to bite on this one: under which circumstances do any of the following qualify as "encryption"
- Base64 (it's an enCODING technique, it's certainly NOT an encryption method)
- Obfuscation (the process of making names of constructs and objects very confusing so that code becomes difficult to follow)
- hash function: a function to turn a variable length value to an integer to speed up comparison.

Calling those things the same thing as "encryption" is really comparing apples to oranges.

Matt Miller (#4) (4/1/2010)

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Sorry - i have to bite on this one: under which circumstances do any of the following qualify as "encryption"
- Base64 (it's an enCODING technique, it's certainly NOT an encryption method)
- Obfuscation (the process of making names of constructs and objects very confusing so that code becomes difficult to follow)
- hash function: a function to turn a variable length value to an integer to speed up comparison.

Calling those things the same thing as "encryption" is really comparing apples to oranges.

Ric Sierra (4/1/2010)

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All your definitions are correct, but the in the context of make a "text" unreadability all the options can be.