What is SHA-256?

SHA-256 is a member of the SHA-2 family that produces a 256-bit (64 hex character) digest. It is the current standard for secure hashing, used in TLS certificates, blockchains, file integrity, and digital signatures.

It is considered collision-resistant and secure for general cryptographic use. For password storage, pair a slow algorithm like bcrypt with salting rather than a raw fast hash.