MD5 Hash Generator

Questions

Is MD5 safe to use?

Not for security. Two different inputs with the same MD5 hash can be made in seconds, so never use it for signatures or passwords. It's fine for spotting accidental file damage or making a cache key.

Why offer MD5 if it's broken?

Many older systems still publish or expect MD5 checksums. This tool is for checking those, not for new work.

What should I use instead of MD5?

SHA-256 or SHA-512 for checksums and signatures. For passwords, use a slow password hash like bcrypt, scrypt or Argon2.

Why doesn't my hash match another tool?

This tool hashes your text as UTF-8, like md5sum. A trailing newline or a different text encoding gives a different hash.

What is the MD5 hash of an empty string?

d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e. It's also the hash of an empty file.