2 ms·
His explanation is STILL too technical. Here is his explanation: A password hash is a representation of your password that can't be reversed, but the original
by btilly 6y ago
His explanation is STILL too technical. Here is his explanation:
A password hash is a representation of your password that can't be reversed, but the original password may still be determined if someone hashes it again and gets the same result.
Compare to:
A hash is like a fingerprint of your password. Your fingerprint tells me very little about you. You might be a man or a woman, tall or short, young or old. But if you show up, I can tell that you still have the same fingerprint. Likewise a hash doesn't tell me your password, but if my computer keeps guessing them, it can know when it is right. And my computer guesses really, really fast.
For the record I just asked my teenage son who doesn't know what a hash is whether he understood either explanation. He understood mine, but not Troy's. And he's a smart kid. If he doesn't understand an explanation, I'm pretty sure most adults won't either.
- talaketu 6y agoYour wordy metaphor misses the point that Troy Hunt was making - that the original password can still be found out by someone other than the owner.
- Izkata 6y agoIs that not this part? > > but if my computer keeps guessing them, it can know when it is right. And my computer guesses really, really fast.
- talaketu 6y agoThat part doesn't follow from the metaphor. And as far as operational security is concerned, this fixates on just that one threat that the author talks about at the end, which depends on weak password.
- smartbit 6y agoHere another alternative https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24381061 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24381061 Wonder which one your teenage son likes better? Of course the answer can be skewed one way or the other knowing which one was written by his parent :-)
- btilly 6y agoI don't know which he likes better, but I dislike that one because it is misleading. The phrase "scrambled" suggests that you might be able to unscramble it fairly trivially.