A database can not secure the login information. It is all about how hard is it to get at this information. It does not matter if you call it obscure or visible it is all about difficulty level.
Techniques to increase the difficulty level for embedded are described in this thread. To crack this requires some reverse engineering of the binary file.
To place it in a separate location could just require
process monitor or strace or similar tools...
which might actually be easier.
Goodname,
Databases secure billions of dollars for businesses, and also of critical and not critical data, for you and anyone else, whatsomore a login password.
Here is the word "password" encrypted, shown as plain text:
AD20F1E9B39B714491C3095C2ABD7F1E
using a crappy password to encode it.
WHAT "reverse engineering" could you apply to decode it?
And, here is the same word "password" encrypted typing a 32 character password:
573E45698F6B00C43C7B35A98B8BD852
They are both the same length.
Therefore, the amount of security does not necessarily relate to "difficulty", as you say.
There are no "absolutes" in any thing.
Most security failures are due to negligence.
And, for diligence, there is always brute force.
Yet, nothing is guaranteed as to safekeeping, be it for protecting or for the other way around.
The best security, though, is VISIBLE security, so far. Both in the world of real objects, or in the world of information management.
In both worlds, many choices are there, likewise.