diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'lib/libmd/mdX.3')
-rw-r--r-- | lib/libmd/mdX.3 | 23 |
1 files changed, 16 insertions, 7 deletions
diff --git a/lib/libmd/mdX.3 b/lib/libmd/mdX.3 index 9e171ba..2d879bc 100644 --- a/lib/libmd/mdX.3 +++ b/lib/libmd/mdX.3 @@ -44,19 +44,25 @@ .Fn MDXData "const unsigned char *data" "unsigned int len" "char *buf" .Sh DESCRIPTION The MDX functions calculate a 128-bit cryptographic checksum (digest) -for any number of input bytes. A cryptographic checksum is a one-way +for any number of input bytes. +A cryptographic checksum is a one-way hash-function, that is, you cannot find (except by exhaustive search) -the input corresponding to a particular output. This net result is -a ``fingerprint'' of the input-data, which doesn't disclose the actual -input. +the input corresponding to a particular output. +This net result is a +.Dq fingerprint +of the input-data, which doesn't disclose the actual input. .Pp MD2 is the slowest, MD4 is the fastest and MD5 is somewhere in the middle. MD2 can only be used for Privacy-Enhanced Mail. MD4 has now been broken; it should only be used where necessary for backward compatibility. MD5 has not yet (1999-02-11) been broken, but sufficient attacks have been -made that its security is in some doubt. The attacks on both MD4 and MD5 -are both in the nature of finding ``collisions'' \- that is, multiple +made that its security is in some doubt. +The attacks on both MD4 and MD5 +are both in the nature of finding +.Dq collisions +\[en] +that is, multiple inputs which hash to the same value; it is still unlikely for an attacker to be able to determine the exact original input given a hash value. .Pp @@ -65,7 +71,10 @@ The .Fn MDXUpdate , and .Fn MDXFinal -functions are the core functions. Allocate an MDX_CTX, initialize it with +functions are the core functions. +Allocate an +.Vt MDX_CTX , +initialize it with .Fn MDXInit , run over the data with .Fn MDXUpdate , |