Is MD5 secure for passwords?

No. MD5 is cryptographically broken and should never be used to hash passwords. Use bcrypt, scrypt, or Argon2 for passwords. MD5 is still useful for checksums and non-security purposes.

Does the hash change if I add a space?

Yes. A single character difference completely changes the hash output. This is the "avalanche effect" — a fundamental property of cryptographic hash functions.

What is SHA-256 used for?

SHA-256 is used for data integrity verification (file checksums), digital signatures, certificate fingerprints, Bitcoin proof-of-work, HMAC authentication, and password hashing (as part of bcrypt/scrypt). It is the current standard for most security applications.

Can I reverse a hash back to the original text?

No. Hash functions are one-way — you cannot mathematically reverse a hash to the original input. This is intentional and is what makes hashes useful for security. You can only verify by hashing the candidate and comparing.

What is the difference between SHA-1 and SHA-256?

SHA-1 produces 160-bit hashes and is now considered cryptographically weak due to collision attacks demonstrated in 2017. SHA-256 produces 256-bit hashes and remains secure. SHA-1 should not be used for security-critical applications.

Hash Generator

Generates cryptographic hashes from text input using the browser's native Web Crypto API. Supports MD5 (via JS implementation), SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, and SHA-512. Results are shown in lowercase hex. Useful for checksums, password hashing demos, data integrity verification, and learning about hash functions.

Runs entirely in your browser — your input is never uploaded, stored, or logged.

Generate hashes in multiple algorithms simultaneously for comparison. For signed message authentication, try the HMAC Generator.

Examples

SHA-256

Input

hello

Output

2cf24dba5fb0a30e26e83b2ac5b9e29e1b161e5c1fa7425e73043362938b9824

Frequently Asked Questions

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