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10 December,2015Jason Parms

Security and efficiency are two very important parameters in communication systems and you must have heard of the terms. Encryption and Hashing as far as data and computing concerned. Regardless, these two computing terms that can be confusing to many, but this article looks to dispel any confusion by giving a complete overview of the two.

A hash can simply be defined as a number generated from a string of text. Other literature can also call it a message digest. In essence, a hash is smaller than the text that produces it. It is generated in a way that a similar hash with the same value cannot be produced by another text. From this definition, it can be seen that hashing is the process of producing hash values for the purpose of accessing data and for security reasons in communication systems. In principle, hashing will take arbitrary input and produce a string with a fixed length. As a rule of the thumb, hashing will have the following attributes:

A hash algorithm is a function that can be used to map out data of random size to data of fixed size. Hash values, hash codes and hash sums are returned by functions during hashing. These are different types of hashing algorithms used in computing, but some have been discarded over time. Some examples are given below:

These characteristics mean that hash can be used to store passwords. This way, it becomes difficult for someone who has the raw data to reverse them.

Encryption is the process of encoding simple text and other information that can be accessed by the sole authorized entity if it has a decryption key. It will protect your sensitive data from being accessed by cybercriminals. It is the most effective way of achieving data security in modern communication systems. In order for the receiver to read an encrypted message, he/she should have a password or a security key that is used in decryption. Data that has not been encrypted is known as plain text while encrypting data is known as a cipher text. There are a number of encryption systems, where an asymmetric encryption is also known as public-key encryption, symmetric encryption and hybrid encryption are the most common.

The main idea of encryption is to protect data from an unauthorized person who wants to read or get information from a message that was not intended for them. Encryption enhances security when sending messages through the Internet or through any given network. The following are key elements of security that encryption helps to enhance.

Some of the most popular encryption algorithms are AES and PGP. AES is a symmetric encryption algorithm while PGP is an example of an asymmetric encryption algorithm used today.

Hashing is used to validate the integrity of the content by detecting all modifications and thereafter changes to a hash output. Encryption encodes data for the primary purpose of maintaining data confidentiality and security. It requires a private key to reversible function encrypted text to plain text.

In short, encryption is a two-way function that includes encryption and decryption whilst hashing is a one-way function that changes a plain text to a unique digest that is irreversible.

Hashing and encryption are differentbut also have some similarities. They are both ideal in handling data, messages, and information in computing systems. They both transform or change data into a different format. While encryption is reversible, hashing is not. Future improvements are very crucial given that attackers keep changing tactics. This implies that an up-to-date way of hashing and encrypting is more palatable in modern computing systems.

To encrypt transmitted information over the website, you need to obtain an SSL certificate as per your needs. Once you installed the certificate on your desired server, all communication between the web browser and the web server will be encrypted.

Read more from the original source:
Difference Between Hashing and Encryption - ssl2buy.com