Hash Generator

A hash function takes any input and produces a fixed-length output (the hash or digest). Good hash functions are deterministic (same input always gives same output), fast to compute, and collision-resistant (two different inputs extremely unlikely to produce the same hash). They are one-way — you cannot reverse a hash back to the original input.

SHA-256 (SHA-2 family) produces a 256-bit hash and is considered cryptographically secure. MD5 produces a 128-bit hash but is broken — collision attacks are practical (two different files can be crafted with the same MD5). MD5 is still used for non-security file integrity checks but must never be used for password hashing or digital signatures. The Web Crypto API excludes MD5 due to its insecurity.

No. Hashing is one-way — you cannot recover the original input from a hash. Encryption is two-way — you can encrypt and later decrypt with the right key. Use hashing to verify integrity or to store passwords (use bcrypt or Argon2, which are deliberately slow, rather than SHA for passwords). Use encryption when you need to recover the original data later.