I am working on a project that has to have authentication (username and password)

It also connects to a database, so I figured I would store the username and password there. However, it seems like not such a good idea to have passwords as just a text field in a table sitting on the database.

I'm using C# and connecting to a 2008 express server. Can anyone suggest (with as many examples as possible) what the best way to store this type of data would be?

P.S I am open to the idea that this info not be stored in the database if a good reason can be provided