Logging in to MySQL through phpMyAdmin

When we type in a username and password, although it seems that we are logging in to phpMyAdmin, we are not! We are merely using phpMyAdmin (which is running on the web server) as an interface that sends our username and password information to the MySQL server. Strictly speaking, we do not log in to phpMyAdmin, but through phpMyAdmin.

Note

This is why in user-support forums about phpMyAdmin, people asking for help about authentication are often referred back to their MySQL server's administrator, because a lost MySQL user or password is not a phpMyAdmin problem.

This section explains the various authentication modes offered by phpMyAdmin.

Logging in to an account without a password

MySQL's default installation leaves a server open to intrusion because it creates a MySQL account named root without a password—unless a password has been set by the MySQL distributor. The recommended remedy for this weakness in security is to set a password for the root account...