An attacker may acquire social media login credentials and use it for mischievous activities.

Cryptography is an integral part of modern world information security making the virtual world a safer place.

Cryptography is a process of making information unintelligible to an unauthorized person.

Ideally, a user needs a cryptographic algorithm which is of low cost and high performance.

However, in reality such algorithm which is a one stop solution does not exist.

There are several algorithms with a cost performance trade off.

Thus, amongst the cryptographic algorithms existing, we choose an algorithm which best fits the user requirements.

In, this process of choosing cryptographic algorithms, a study of strengths, weakness, cost and performance of each algorithm will provide valuable insights.

In our paper, we have implemented and analyzed in detail cost and performance of popularly used cryptographic algorithms DES, 3DES, AES, RSA and blowfish to show an overall performance analysis, unlike only theoretical comparisons.

Published by Elsevier B.V.

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.

With convenience and ease of use provided by technology, certain risks are posed.

We all are very happy with technology at our finger tips on mobiles and computers.

But if an attacker gets a banking password, money is stolen at the same ease.

How Long Does It Take To Crack 3Des