Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 01:43:54 -0500 From: "J.A. Terranson" <sysadmin@mfn.org> To: "'Gary Palmer'" <gpalmer@FreeBSD.ORG>, Open Systems Networking <opsys@mail.webspan.net> Cc: Cory Kempf <ckempf@enigami.com>, "freebsd-security@FreeBSD.ORG" <freebsd-security@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: RE: MD5 v. DES? Message-ID: <01BD8B6C.68192890@w3svcs.mfn.org>
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Actually, this question is nonsensical, as MD5 and DES are two *entirely* different things. MD5 (Message Digest [algorithm] 5) is a *hash* function: It does *NOT* encrypt! What is does is provide a "one way" pseudo-signature based on the contents of the file it is run against. What makes this a "one way" function is that you can get a hash (signature) from a file, but you *cannot* get a file from an hash! DES (Data Encryption Standard [modified LUCIFER]) is a two-way *encryption* function. Not only can you reduce a file to an indecipherable mess, but you can take the mess, and recover the original file. Unfortunately, comparing MD5 and DES is an "apples and oranges" proposition... J.A. Terranson sysadmin@mfn.org > > Is there a discussion somewhere about the merits of MD5 v. DES? > > E.g. what advantages one has over the other? > > If I recall from past memories MD5 i believe is faster. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe security" in the body of the message
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