π Home Page β Introduction to Cryptography
What is Cryptography?
Cryptography is the practice of protecting information by transforming it into a secure format. It ensures data confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity. On this website, you'll learn about three key concepts in cryptography:
- Hashing: Transforming data into a fixed-size string that cannot be reversed.
- Encryption: Converting data into unreadable form so that only authorized users can read it.
- Encoding: Transforming data into another format to make it safely transferable.
| Feature | Hashing | Encoding | Encryption |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Data integrity check | Data formatting | Data confidentiality |
| Reversible | β No (one-way) | β Yes | β Yes (with correct key) |
| Secure? | β Yes (for security) | β No | β Yes (with strong algorithm) |
| Common Use | Password storage, blockchain | URL, Base64, data transmission | Secure messaging, data at rest |
| Example | SHA-256, MD5 | Base64, URL encoding | AES, RSA |
- Core Objectives of Cryptography:
- Confidentiality β Preventing unauthorized access to information.
- Integrity β Ensuring the information is not changed.
- Authentication β Verifying the identity of the source.
- Non-repudiation β Proving that a sender sent the message.
- Real-world Applications:
- Online banking and payments
- Secure messaging (e.g., WhatsApp, Signal)
- Email protection
- Digital signatures
- Blockchain and cryptocurrencies
- Main Topics You'll Learn:
- π Hashing
- π‘οΈ Encryption
- π€ Encoding
What is Hashing?
Hashing is the process of converting data (text, password, file) into a fixed-length (e.g., 256-bit) unique string using a specific algorithm. Hash functions are widely used in cryptography, password storage in databases, digital signature systems, and many other fields.
- Hashing Algorithms
- MD5 -> Message-Digest Algorithm 5
- SHA-1 -> Secure Hash Algorithm 1
- SHA-256 -> Secure Hash Algorithm 256
- SHA-512 -> Secure Hash Algorithm 512
Why is Hashing Important?
- Password Protection
- Websites don't store user passwords directly; they store hashed versions.
- During login, the entered password is hashed and compared with the stored hash.
- Data Integrity Verification
- The hash of a downloaded file is compared with the original hash to ensure it hasn't been altered.
- Blockchain Technology
- Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies use the SHA-256 algorithm.
Security Notes
β MD5 and SHA-1 β Can be cracked easily by hackers and should not be used in modern projects.
β
SHA-256 or SHA-512 β Currently considered secure and recommended.
If you have more questions π€ you can ask the Chat Bot.
If you want to create a hash π go to Get Hash.
If you want to crack a hash π go to Crack Hash.
π Encryption β Protecting Data with Keys
What is Encryption?
Encryption is the process of converting data into an unreadable format using a special algorithm and key. Only those with the correct key can decrypt the data and access the original content.
𧩠Types of Encryption:
- Symmetric Encryption
- Same key is used for both encryption and decryption.
- Fast but key must be shared securely
- Examples: AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), DES
- Asymmetric Encryption
- Uses a pair: public key (to encrypt) and private key (to decrypt).
- No need to share private key.
- Examples: RSA (RivestβShamirβAdleman), ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography)
π Use Cases:
- Secure websites (HTTPS)
- Email encryption (PGP/GPG)
- Encrypted file storage
- Secure online communication
β οΈ Important Concepts:
- Key Management: Losing the decryption key means losing the data.
- Performance: Symmetric encryption is faster than asymmetric.
π€ Encoding β Data Formatting for Transmission
What is Encoding?
Encoding is the process of converting data into a specific format for efficient transmission or storage. It's not for secrecy, but for readability and compatibility across systems.
π Common Encoding Methods:
- Base64 Encoding
- Converts binary data to text.
- Common in email attachments, JSON, images in HTML.
- URL Encoding
- Converts special characters into a format usable in URLs.
- Example: space β %20
- HTML Encoding
- Escapes characters to safely display them in HTML
- Example: < becomes <
- Character Encoding
- Translates characters into binary (ASCII, UTF-8, Unicode).
- Supports multilingual content.
π§ Why Encoding Is Important:
- Makes data portable across different systems and platforms.
- Ensures compatibility with protocols like HTTP, SMTP.
- Prevents data corruption or misinterpretation.
β οΈ Note:
- Encoding is not secure β anyone can reverse it.
- It should not be used for protecting confidential data.
- This website allows you to easily encode and decode text using Base64 format. Base64 Encode/Decode
- Use this tool to encode or decode special characters in URLs (e.g., %20 becomes a space). URL Encode/Decode