Generating Secure HMACs & PBKDF2 Keys
When building secure applications, you often need to verify that data hasn't been tampered with, or you need to securely transform a user's password into a cryptographic key. That's where HMAC and PBKDF2 come in!
What is an HMAC?
HMAC stands for Hash-based Message Authentication Code. It uses a cryptographic hash function (like SHA-256) combined with a secret key.
Unlike a regular hash, an HMAC proves two things:
- Data Integrity: The data hasn't been modified in transit.
- Authenticity: The data was sent by someone who possesses the secret key.
HMACs are widely used in modern APIs to sign webhooks (like Stripe or GitHub webhooks) and in JSON Web Tokens (JWTs).
What is PBKDF2?
PBKDF2 stands for Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2. It is a key stretching algorithm used to reduce vulnerabilities to brute-force attacks.
It works by applying a pseudorandom function (like HMAC) to the input password along with a "salt" value, and repeating the process thousands of times. This makes it incredibly computationally expensive for hackers to crack your passwords!
Use our generator to quickly create HMAC signatures and derive PBKDF2 keys for your testing and development needs.