SHA-512 Hash Code Calculator

SHA-512 (Secure Hash Algorithm 512-bit) is a cryptographic hash function that takes an input (or message) and produces a fixed-size, 512-bit (64-byte) output, commonly represented as a 128-character hexadecimal number. It belongs to the SHA-2 family of hash functions, designed by the NSA and typically used for applications where you need maximum security, such as extremely sensitive data, long-term archival, military-grade encryption, and future proofing against evolving threats, such as quantum computing.

Full disclosure: I did not write the specific implementation of the hash function used on this page. It is a standard function included with the PHP programming language. I only made the web interface to make it publicly available here for convenience.

About the SHA-512 Hash Algorithm

I'm not particularly good at math and by no means consider myself a mathematician, so I'll try to explain this hash function in a way that my fellow non-mathematicians can understand. If you prefer the scientifically correct math-version, I'm sure you can find that on plenty of other websites ;-)

Anyway, let's imagine that the hash function is a super high-tech blender designed to create a unique smoothie from any ingredients you put into it. This takes three steps:

Step 1: Put in Ingredients (Input)

• Think of the input as anything you want to blend: bananas, strawberries, pizza slices, or even a whole book. It doesn't matter what you put in - big or small, simple or complex.

Step 2: Blending Process (The Hash Function)

• You press the button, and the blender goes wild - chopping, mixing, spinning at crazy speeds. It has a special recipe inside that no one can change.
• This recipe includes crazy rules like: "Spin left, spin right, flip upside down, shake, chop in weird ways." All of this happens behind the scenes.

Step 3: You Get a Smoothie (Output):

• No matter what ingredients you used, the blender always gives you exactly one cup of smoothie (that's the fixed size of 512 bits in SHA-512).
• The smoothie has a unique flavor and color based on the ingredients you put in. Even if you just change one tiny thing - like adding one grain of sugar - the smoothie will taste completely different.

I personally consider the related SHA-256 hash function secure enough for my purposes, but if you want something extra, SHA-512 may be the way to go. You could also take the middle road and check out SHA-384: SHA-384 Hash Code Calculator ;-)

Due to the way it's designed, SHA-512 actually runs faster than SHA-256 on 64 bit computers, which includes most laptops and desktops at the time of writing, but may not include smaller embedded systems. The disadvantage is that storing SHA-512 hash codes require twice as much storage SHA-256 hash codes.

As it happens, some smart people came up with a way to get the best of both, namely the SHA-512/256 hash function: SHA-512/256 Hash Code Calculator