What is a Hash?
A cryptographic hash function takes any input and produces a fixed-length string of characters. The same input always produces the same hash, but even a tiny change in input creates a completely different hash. Hashes are one-way — you cannot reverse them to get the original text.
Common Use Cases
🔐 Password Storage
Store password hashes instead of plain text for security.
✅ Data Integrity
Verify file downloads by comparing hash checksums.
🔑 API Authentication
Sign API requests using HMAC-SHA256 for secure communication.
📦 Deduplication
Detect duplicate files by comparing their hash values.