Interactive LabLab #02
The Cryptographic Avalanche Effect Lab
A defining property of secure hash functions like SHA-256 is the Avalanche Effect: modifying just a single character or bit causes the entire output digest to change unpredictably. Test two inputs side-by-side below.
INPUT STRING A6 characters
SHA-256 Digest A:
Computing...
INPUT STRING B (1 Char Different)6 characters
SHA-256 Digest B:
Computing...
Avalanche Effect Bit Metrics
Ideal cryptographic diffusion alters roughly 50% of the 256 output bits.
Different Bits:128 / 256
Percentage:50.0%
256-Bit Difference Map (Colored = Changed Bit):
Flipped (Different) Identical