SpotCanary — The Format Notebook https://spotcanary.com/notebook/ Short, practical notes on the formats developers deal with every day: what the specification says, where the surprises are, and how to check your own data. en-GB Mon, 31 Aug 2026 04:51:52 GMT Hashing vs Encryption: Understanding the Critical Differences https://spotcanary.com/notebook/hashing-is-not-encryption.html https://spotcanary.com/notebook/hashing-is-not-encryption.html This guide explains why hashing is a one-way process unlike encryption and identifies which algorithms are suitable for password storage and data integrity. Mon, 31 Aug 2026 04:51:52 GMT The Format Notebook How Word Counters Use Delimiters to Estimate Word Counts https://spotcanary.com/notebook/what-a-word-count-counts.html https://spotcanary.com/notebook/what-a-word-count-counts.html Discover how word counters rely on delimiters and whitespace for calculations, and why differences in punctuation or Unicode encoding lead to varied results. Sat, 29 Aug 2026 05:01:49 GMT The Format Notebook UUID Version 4 Uniqueness Depends on Cryptographic Entropy https://spotcanary.com/notebook/uuid-v4-collisions.html https://spotcanary.com/notebook/uuid-v4-collisions.html Explore why version 4 UUID collision probability depends on cryptographic entropy and how random primary keys impact B-tree index performance in databases. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:58:38 GMT The Format Notebook Unix Time Leap Seconds and the Year 2038 Integer Overflow https://spotcanary.com/notebook/unix-epoch-and-2038.html https://spotcanary.com/notebook/unix-epoch-and-2038.html Learn how Unix time handles leap seconds and why the Year 2038 problem occurs due to signed 32-bit integer overflow in legacy systems and binary protocols. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:58:38 GMT The Format Notebook How Reed-Solomon Error Correction Keeps QR Codes Scannable https://spotcanary.com/notebook/qr-code-error-correction.html https://spotcanary.com/notebook/qr-code-error-correction.html This guide explains how Reed-Solomon error correction allows a QR code to remain scannable even with physical damage or logos by using redundant parity bits. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:58:38 GMT The Format Notebook Preventing JWT Signature Bypass via the None Algorithm https://spotcanary.com/notebook/jwt-alg-none.html https://spotcanary.com/notebook/jwt-alg-none.html This guide explains how attackers use the alg none field in a JSON Web Token header to bypass signature verification and escalate privileges on a server. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:58:38 GMT The Format Notebook Bcrypt Cost Factor: Exponential Scaling and Input Limits https://spotcanary.com/notebook/bcrypt-cost-factor.html https://spotcanary.com/notebook/bcrypt-cost-factor.html Learn how the bcrypt cost factor works, including its exponential growth, the seventy-two byte input limit, and how to manage hash security upgrades safely. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:58:38 GMT The Format Notebook Base64 Encoding Explained: Mechanics and Data Bloat https://spotcanary.com/notebook/base64-size-overhead.html https://spotcanary.com/notebook/base64-size-overhead.html Learn how Base64 encoding transforms binary data into a text format for safe transport via email or data URLs, despite a thirty-three per cent size increase. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:58:38 GMT The Format Notebook