Random seed

Article summary

A random seed (or seed state, or just seed) is a number (or vector) used to initialize a pseudorandom number generator. A pseudorandom number generator's number sequence is completely determined by the seed: thus, if a pseudorandom number generator is later reinitialized with the same seed, it will produce the same sequence of numbers. For a seed to be used in a pseudorandom number generator, it does not need to be random. Because of the nature of number generating algorithms, so long as the original seed is ignored, the rest of the values that the algorithm generates will follow probability distribution in a pseudorandom manner. However, a non-random seed will be cryptographically insecure, as it can allow an adversary to predict the pseudorandom numbers generated. The choice of a good random seed is crucial in the field of computer security. When a secret encryption key is pseudorandomly generated, having the seed will allow one to obtain the key. High entropy is important for selecting good random seed data. Random seeds need to be chosen carefully in order to ensure random number generation. If a seed is chosen that doesn't provide actual random results, the numbers given by the PRNG (pseudo random number generator) will not work properly in an application that needs them.…

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