Frequently Asked Questions
What is MD5?
MD5 (Message-Digest Algorithm 5) produces a 128-bit (32-character hex) hash value from any input.
Is MD5 secure for passwords?
No. MD5 is considered broken for password storage. Use bcrypt or Argon2 instead.
What is MD5 used for?
File integrity verification, checksums, caching keys, and non-security-critical deduplication.
Can I hash a file with MD5?
Yes. Switch to the file upload tab to compute the MD5 hash of any file.
Does MD5 support UTF-8?
Yes. This tool encodes text as UTF-8 before hashing, supporting all Unicode characters.
How fast is MD5?
MD5 is very fast and can process hundreds of MB per second on modern hardware.
Can two different inputs have the same MD5?
Yes, this is called a collision. MD5 collision attacks are feasible.
What is the difference between MD5 and SHA-256?
SHA-256 produces a longer hash (64 chars vs 32) and is more secure.