Re:Engine Yard Programming Contest - Win an iPhone 3GS PLUS ...
by jrockway on Tuesday July 14, 2009 @03:15PM
(#704389)
This is the sort of thing that hash functions are designed to avoid.
Since getting closer words does not get you a closer hash, usual optimization algorithms (like genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, etc.) are not going to be helpful.
Perhaps I'm missing something, but I think brute force and luck are going to win this contest, assuming that SHA1 is not broken between now and July 20th. If you want an iPhone 3G S, you should probably just head over to the Apple store and buy one and spend your valuable time on something else.
Since getting closer words does not get you a closer hash, usual optimization algorithms (like genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, etc.) are not going to be helpful.
Perhaps I'm missing something, but I think brute force and luck are going to win this contest, assuming that SHA1 is not broken between now and July 20th. If you want an iPhone 3G S, you should probably just head over to the Apple store and buy one and spend your valuable time on something else.