Also wouldn't a hash of a long passphrase be longer? (I am completely ignorant the details of hashing algorithms)... so if I'm cracking a table of hashed passwords, I could set a "passphrase" cracker on hashed passwords of above average length?
Also wouldn't a hash of a long passphrase be longer? (I am completely ignorant the details of hashing algorithms)... so if I'm cracking a table of hashed passwords, I could set a "passphrase" cracker on hashed passwords of above average length?
The problem with this is hash collisions, weaknesses found in hash algorithms can make it so attackers could generate files to match another files hash (or password or w/e). I think the idea is that they create a harmful file, then add null characters or w/e so the hash algorithm will generate/assign the two different files the same hash.
Different problem domains have different additional requirements: password hashes want to minimise collisions (multiple inputs hashing to the same output), checksums want to make similar inputs produce wildly different outputs, hashtable/dictionary/map key hashes want to create an even distribution of outputs etc. But the thing common to all hashing algorithms is the output is the same size.