SHA-2 (Secure Hash Algorithm 2) refers to a family of cryptographic hash functions that can convert arbitrarily long strings of data into digests of a fixed size (224, 256, 384, or 512 bits). 256-bit SHA-2, also known as SHA-256, is the most often-used version. The digest is commonly displayed as a fixed value hexadecimal number. (SHA-256, for instance, returns a 64 character code.) SHA-2 has supplanted SHA-1 in security protocols like SSL/TLS.