Reading assignment: Hashing

Blockchain and Bitcoin 101
#3695

There is no way to know for sure what will happen in that case. But the network will need to do a hard fork to a new algo to ensure the network remains secure in the future. :slight_smile:

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#3696
  1. What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin?
    SHA-256
  2. Why is this hashing algorithm really hard (almost impossible) to brute-force?
    The algorithm which is used can only be used to calculate the output and it canā€™t be used to calculate the original raw data. Because of this you canā€™t reverse a new hash. It can only be solved in a linear, unidirectional manner.
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#3697

  1. Secure Hash algorithm or SHA-256

  2. You can never brute-force SHA because mathematical codes runs in one direction and it canā€™t be reversed. Or it can be done by a supercomputer. :joy: :joy: :rofl:

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#3698
  1. SHA 256
  2. the result can not be resolved backwards, like fruit in a blender :)))
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#3699
  1. SHA-256
  2. Every hash produced can be up to 256 bits, so many difficult mathemathical equasions, its is impossible to come up with same output
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#3700

Thanks Alko89

Another 2 questions came up in my mind. Appreciate if anyone could enlighten me on this a little.

  1. Say a miner wants to brute force a private key address via SHA256, but the process of solving the hash algorithm is done entirely by random right ?
    That would mean the hacker would not be able to solve the hash algorithm manually right ?
    Does hacker have a way to bypass the SHA256 feature of lottery solving process?

  2. Say a miner has no intention to brute force a private key, but somehow the output and the input matches at a random chance, is that considered brute force ? And what can the miner do when they managed to ā€œbrute forceā€? Transfer all the crypto in the account ?
    Or can the miner come clean to Satoshi group and say he accidentally got the private key while he/she is mining ?

i am a novice trying to understand blockchain a little more in depth.

#3701
  1. What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin?
    The hashing algorithm in Bitcoin is called Secure Hash Algorithm SHA-256.
  2. Why is this hashing algorithm really hard (almost impossible) to brute-force?
    Bitcoin hash algorithm is able to receive any form or size of data(input) and translate it to an alphanumeric string of a certain size(output). Bitcoin hash algorithm can only find a hash output. Hashed data can not be reversed and calculated back to initial data. It is a one-way mechanism and it guarantees no reversal of the hash.
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#3702
  1. Sha (secure hashing algorithm) 256

2.This algorithm is nearly impossible to ā€˜brute forceā€™ because it is extremely difficult to find two ā€˜inputsā€™ to produce the same ā€˜outputā€™ in a hash.

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#3703
  1. SHA-256
  2. It is not impossible, but it will take too long to compute or guess the hash that it is just not worth the time and effort to even try, or just plain crazy.
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#3704
  1. The hashing algorithm used in Bitcoin is called SHA-256.
  2. Because there are too many possibilities and in case the result is not corresponding, the computation needs to be done over and over again.
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#3705

  1. What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin?
    SHA-256

  2. Why is this hashing algorithm really hard (almost impossible) to brute-force?
    Because the algorithm can take any kind of input and size of data as an input, therefore a slight variation of the input will give a completely different output (hash). If you want to refer to the blender analogy, it is difficult to almost impossible to guess the ingredients from the result.

My question would be:
Do advances in computing power, like quantum computers, change that statement? Would it become more likely?

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#3706

Miners are not brute forcing sha but trying to find a new hash that is below a certain target for the block to get accepted as valid.

No, he has to keep trying random nonces until it finds a hash that fits the target requirement.

Private keys are just random numbers generated by a computer and hash is a fingerprint of the data. There is a very slim chance for a hash to be the same as some private key in the network and even in case a miner does generate a private key that would be able to unlock some funds he would have to generate a public key for each and then check the blockchain if there is an address that corresponds to it. A miner wants to generate hashes as fast as possible, having to compare the keys would really slow him down and cripple the chance to find the block hash instead.

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#3707

Sooner or later the hash function will become obsolete, might even be with traditional computers. When that happens the network will need to hard fork to keep its security.

2 Likes
#3708
  1. What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin?
    SHA - 256
  2. Why is this hashing algorithm really hard (almost impossible) to brute-force?
    You can never know the input based on the output, therefore it comes down to statistical chance of guessing the correct input, which is astronomically low due to the length of the hash function.
2 Likes
#3709

  1. Bitcoin hash algorithm is called Sha-256

  2. Because it cannot be reversed therefore creating a new algorithm. Itā€™s final no unblending it.

2 Likes
#3710
  • What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin?
    The algorithm is called SHA-256
  • Why is this hashing algorithm really hard (almost impossible) to brute-force?
    It is mathematically impossible (nowadays) to crack this algorithm, because there are far too many ways to solve the algorithm.
2 Likes
#3711
  1. sha 256
  2. its hard because is an unilateral process and creates a its own hash
2 Likes
#3712

  1. SHA-256

  2. The algorithm is a one-way mechanism that is generated through complex mathematical equations that donā€™t allow the reversal of a new hash. The bitcoin hash moves in a linear manner.

1 Like
#3713
  • What is the hashing algorithm called used in Bitcoin?
    -SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm, 256 bit)
  • Why is this hashing algorithm really hard (almost impossible) to brute-force?
    Because the difficulty for computers to solve the unilateral algorithm adjusts every 2016 blocks, or about every two weeks. This ensures the difficulty does not outpace hardware development. The nature of the Hash Algorithm makes it only solvable in one direction, unlike a normal function that is bilateral.
3 Likes
#3714

  1. SHA-256

  2. because it works in a linear, unidirectional manner that can not be reversed to calculate the initial raw data.

3 Likes