Question 1

What is a hash function?

Accepted Answer

A hash function takes input data of any size and produces a fixed-size string of characters (the hash). The same input always produces the same hash, but even a tiny change in input produces a completely different hash. Common algorithms include MD5 (128-bit), SHA-1 (160-bit), SHA-256 (256-bit), and SHA-512 (512-bit).

Question 2

Is MD5 still secure?

Accepted Answer

MD5 is no longer considered cryptographically secure for digital signatures or password hashing due to known collision vulnerabilities. However, it's still widely used for checksums and data integrity verification. For security-sensitive applications, use SHA-256 or SHA-512.

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