How to detect a string's hash algorithm?

Question

How to detect a string's hash algorithm? Does each hash algorithms create a unique characteristic?

You can often guess based on the number of bits involved, but there are infinitely many functions that can generate a given hash. (If the set of possible functions is restricted to the popular algorithms, then you can usually narrow it down to 1 or 2. For example, a 32 character hex string, or 128 bit binary blob is almost always an md5 hash.) — Corbin
– Corbin, Commented Apr 2, 2012 at 9:24

Nick Johnson · Accepted Answer · 2012-04-02 13:28:22Z

4

All cryptographically strong hashes of a given bitlength (or equivalently, a hash with a longer bitlength that's been truncated) are indistinguishable by examining their outputs - because, in order to be a secure hash function, they have to produce evenly distributed outputs; any variation in their output would be an exploitable weakness.

answered Apr 2, 2012 at 13:28

Nick Johnson

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