So the record check would be when the user enters his password and checks it against the db; is this what you mean?
Yes.

Wouldnt the password need to be encrypted before the check?
You need an encryption and decryption method to properly check it. Meaning that it would be encrypted on 'set' and decrypted to be checked on 'read'.

Is there any good tutorials on encryption?
Google.com
There's also an article on here: http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?t=345183