Well, I know this isn't strictly php, but:

How many possible calculations is there in a MD5-hash?
Math is not my strong side, and I just wonder how much effort it would take to find (as an example) this

da0f5131d42ba991e2089fc250f50cd5

if all you know is that it lies between this

00000000000000000000000000000000

and this

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

?

Is this an effort at all with the right script and modern computer equipment?

Reason I'm asking is that I'm using MD5-hashes for 3DES-keys, and I just wonder if the limitation of caracters possible would make it more vulnerable.

knutm 😃

    I believe that the answer to this question would be 32 to the power of 16 since the MD5 hash will have 32 chars and there is 16 possible values for each one of them.

    Hope this helps ... btw this is just my opinion I did not verify it ! 🆒

      Yup, that was app. the same conclusion I'd arrive at.
      But, me being seriously math-retarded, how big is this number actually? 😃

      If someone concocted a for-loop that did check each possibility, how long would it have to run before all instances are tested?

      knutm

        32 to the power of 16 = 120,892,581,961,462,917,4706,176

          Write a Reply...