public static String hashPassword(String password) {
		byte[] bytesOfPassword;
		byte[] digest = {0};
		try {
			bytesOfPassword = password.getBytes(bitEncoding);
			MessageDigest md = MessageDigest.getInstance(passwordEncryptionAlgorithm);
			digest = md.digest(bytesOfPassword);
			return new String(digest, "UTF-8");
		} catch (UnsupportedEncodingException e) {
			System.err.println("UTF-8 encoding is not supported on this platform.");
			e.printStackTrace();
		} catch (NoSuchAlgorithmException e) {
			e.printStackTrace();
		}
		return null;
	}