An enciphered text generated by transforming any length of input data via a cryptographic function.
A vital part of cryptography, hashing helps safeguard data by encrypting it. A hashing algorithm, such as the SHA256 is used to transform a regular string of text or data into an indecipherable string of bits.
For instance, if you enter Coin360 as an input for a SHA256 hasher, you will receive the following output every time:
“8e4aaa34a68ffc386e5e6fb438286ce6285b374de36f5cb628f10ecdfb8ffb89”
Most online applications save user passwords as hashes to prevent plain text from being leaked. Since the hash of an input will always remain the same, it can be used to check for validity of data without actually knowing the data.
