Encoding/strange format of data

[Federico Nutarelli]

Hi all,

I have two strings called phone and email looking like this:

* Example generated by -dataex-. For more info, type help dataex
clear
input str44(email phone)
"5b31baf92171234adacc3aaf0ee5a14cf0b1adb35194" "3567550f9cf51d6b9fe94cbbf17f8cf5da83677b20a6"
"b47a23dfa8a71dd52879e32b46b95d3b0673e6ea38b0" "0ff8479f1516d3de1091624ded4b0eeb2a0144854801"
"6929f69b848bb6ea80905aa169a80c962644f6e1ea89" "09a7a47a69b67e1d65c4ce385ec430bf49397261f38c"
"c5c2d17bbf20b772ff72abfcb2f5021cf02cebe422d3" "c15aa8b05de5ccd5816dc3f69e8babbff8b8998b0e64"
"e60a1afac6a840b383ad8172de7304eb404348e72f66" "f09585362157ce6813345220cc5de55cc72e01c9905f"
"620c6031417106c60575a1b500b4a49ac92694436dd3" "b7b92384a7a4ba7a7f3eb016873a382c8664e7ee2a2d"
"609f7d8ce047d04f036537281797e86efb556e4701dd" "ea93f73fbea0390fafb333c3899d49f207433d3d9d80"
"5485bed91c1320b157961987bef8e7065caac91077e5" "fd896e75c364cfdce3b60a9d6da34fa1613918228259"
"93e5d078ca75594f3ba172dca80a49b465cf3d94acbb" "7a23221c9a68883eafbd95f12e43930762c62e128fdb"
"59cd89e6b93fed11b123b6111fccb8ca394360cb63de" "5052a5146e1a95bcc5f2f3a3dfc3fd9321bb2b157b4b"
"d7edc3e5bb1242d673da87c450a8b1d607ae8f0564d3" "915d3cf35319dddfe2b6f56068dfc969a72dbbc41823"
"3c4ab7ca2011f2f79880de7190c9abc9e139699c7d01" "d32a6f3bb291987f4bae575a4fcee095be2918a701a2"
"c197423be9418bcabea2b160910db5adeb02bed85cd3" "9ecc873d75e18589a22113e4bd13197d1f7329681816"
"94a50f1463bbc1962c2454a1e8df110184a7b2ca5c91" "9adb24921a93ee496e439024e4f2463bd86ba1b95125"
"41e0a7755e064343700f8be78c8402636b3c5d2cd431" "6daccaae119fbea535f07b8573d4b1c1556262e134c9"
"a222970ab8baad403fd7030628c8a0e3caff208d4db4" "d3edbd084df3679acfd5afb286a89d5591a91f6690d3"
"80103d76ea4aa576da5a3736eb792b5d12fd033ca1c2" "7dd00c0ca61386c8e587632bd14353a56be3fcb4e90c"
"fb67d37ca2d2729a503ddcdb9559c4629f815b8d3695" "fb481c7540503ab5010492891439171e0c0209607f17"
"b5f7993549f667d3a2f366abbfdb40aa92c4baa827db" "2f7813a6c64be63cd79a679ffdbe1386682d950ef91f"
"99217e7e67fd279d63ada2aeaeb284e9021f1ce2e131" "4e4806486255b85b20aa5e989e604c2ca9dfb612e93b"
"f2d874fe2b673394bc36e150bee79207ef5a66db0065" "75b14fed88b61cb3625d6f2328423ef4f1cad43553c3"
"56fb0346a00a92e635cdeddd9f7882556981b0b3ab1c" "361a237370385b1119e33cf8330f2266972b541aa750"
"9b8375e51cd4c686fd87c41b5c502c70a7aa0e7d6bb5" "661d8836631db83c4959d4e20e0f5f29e7edf0f141ac"
"71233c54b3e71feda9bacdcfc87d892a619a0fc61e12" "2db3f3dabd6d50e0ccda7af8b4d26b3b37e7d4b3ec63"
"765dfefddf86deb766306adf98bde05a7bebc4516b1b" "96ccffe89a00861ffdeb8edf75db662a3d423a4280df"
"bbf7e878c4e41af84ae50712b094506c14e0b4031fcf" "fb5962ae56ca765ec6eaf0eca29f3660a2f3720923f2"
"7ec4322996f64521d1627b49b02f01debe7568984cbc" "71d9140cf8d0b2e1bc3a364c780f488832d4569cdc95"
"af56d8168e459f1ddb480454dac69e6ba1ebfd277f72" "4cfa58907f3fad555a4e8f84f22bf27b5510cf28bf31"
"0fb0add0f608bbda3715a5bba031acf475076f0827aa" "a8b7155186cb5b28004cd2b82af2dcad71170894216a"
"002dffda3f50cff1bb4b9d9e31a55c364722878ad846" "e9b199bec82a5c85b763ed7ab253584064b62e2d6cad"
"acb06aa7ff4cd8fda375125bd8da4bb1a37a135106ac" "3388eb9d5799b57bd342a1895e09dc803c3b16db05b3"
"5a8ffb5f05b5877041fa9e97b539171081ee765d6cc6" "d893fa1fa3ddb082c9e6c68fb59d61f6ba13e8957f42"
"da886168848dc914607d6d51beb7adf2511ce5dcc130" "db1b3fc8a32ce81211c9e57f64981784abe088ea9601"
"0fab447993a31071d2496828c0116e075a0100a295a4" "6a3e19696c8b455704279c366e9a1b3784855800d0c4"
"8cd0087beeb9f9db4d1f7275896a8c35a450376c6e02" "f100a713e89871ec7ef2c635b1739e1ccd31e5afc525"
"50a4fcb6342c6d0d25f11d83aa29e5b1528b23818276" "dcdbc1c61442bc6247164bcaa96e56a7f3dd3aaf4165"
"d0dd24a3a7ccdf5d2f1047468b2f379a549a0cdb19e6" "57227bcba3b9d5cd6c55a4279845af823759e97f15e4"
"f72a23842a16bdce575c126db3639e701f19f4b3e88b" "daf92dc676cdfde3a2b1269b100b73c708535c23e6b1"
"8cd0087beeb9f9db4d1f7275896a8c35a450376c6e02" "f100a713e89871ec7ef2c635b1739e1ccd31e5afc525"
"ea3c2006a542de5d1d9cf63a7277b038c11f11583f1a" "068f149d1720ebb08353910b5649f94e68a190932116"
"958def8a13a2feb82c799bc8e8a825b426585aac63c1" "43e12e03943e1b698b9a16ffa8a9687f8c528aac6ada"
"9321df27a5439dc439809e3eadc4f6c44a85819d8e14" "b958810dd229bd35d0639215451b0cfb6b42a1346a82"
"e721dd4600983e9ac0eea56409e3394fda51414efca4" "de1d78a337e83d411ed2304fe11fc486dde4503f30f0"
"cd658617e230126b5189ddf2dcaf762cd9164bf6e520" "59ecb71c767d7f1a67a560595b4c2ff7c98ef6ef2d7c"
"81db29791f685865f4794d3a37b18f37f47098b74677" "08cb904f76777c0e3cbe172a8f3892f063edddb387e2"
"0488882908125eaf30582969b29295c17247c49bcb6b" "09d6378d55d564d50e09eaa448cefe9154f4d3ee5f89"
"91dda496d18f6a938aa0dde348379c8dc19f64275cfb" "3946ef33508fc4a461c48244952fdee309ebf6fb4584"
"a1ce3c85fe5f66a7a9a57d8ef029e7ddb4d276ee5629" "f96b22c5b97dd4e4625dd5d9a48ada3d659bf8b558fc"
"3fe31f5fbba0d1d7466c79754c03be957d613814b6a1" "d177a83f8f69ccf0d8987926252084edeb02c02ea57c"
"c0e506e7b89f0ee73d0d46458ec497b2308f123833c6" "f360e30d451f713fa8cb4d437e8eea44d3373fc1958b"
"05cf109c077076b0acd7e58dc2bacaad494688827c9e" "3563d129c5828a9c33802a86c50aad6a9d377ef2b2c3"
"33c8d24d7ef7b2a3cb0e654853319e7dd08cc3401d78" "44e242f968dc3bbe1fb61e49d13a344f0092f82b96b1"
"561dd39b34eb240349f03ac15acbe045167fcf272278" "ae3dfcbaf52b25ca5bc4ac5afeb314f6e69b157fa60d"
"950c08cd2165ba3a08f9e7d806a7f5c5d4903b7cb90c" "607a152e6612c113655392372a0a950f1d08e9a599e4"
"d0451db1f7774919f1418c48b9c5d7f64ad0f63a108d" "f1699a6b5ebbeba4aa611b692291afc4e3b63ad8479a"
"e999dd38593587ebe025548af614fff0448e3e1774d0" "5783db9146903a5c15e38f18f259d29c107520b14f02"
"100ba0af573b46b6b8947b75a751e5aa05a6715404d9" "7a18f6cc809066dfd8253164ce8a9e1332e2a149bb1b"
"393f8b6e64a881f617c92cb073a37b083cfb3e0b75ac" "215c77c5e32590240925c1dba7c78ca6cb9b33e84e65"
"610556bba0065003198c7af61cdfeceb80a01161e35b" "a5cf179c6efc146d471f3041d1c89fe9991f6c3e5f65"
"af56d8168e459f1ddb480454dac69e6ba1ebfd277f72" "4cfa58907f3fad555a4e8f84f22bf27b5510cf28bf31"
"e10d91694fe0630d86b11f4390d7f572fc3f838a3ae4" "cf8e2ffb9530b9dc5c7132b8c4bda6bd804bb1112c70"
"607e05eb25288aedc74d85c8fda2ec15415fb26b24fd" "73c38b7df00ea3d2cc2ec8d194accb8317699a286f06"
"4e9c354f6eefeae7cf5bae5b42f5759d1762fa84792f" "607f16ff632871e8e248ef343ad455d939757a4abeef"
"1e237cd70670460e00589ad201b93c1351798e697bc8" "d9e6f48a7fe51e341c3087adc59da75a51f9c08c1be2"
"6d10ce7ac08a283866016c39227cbeb54d59c891f27d" "513053a24ed7acdb33a164eca348f02edb6464913e8a"
"37b5f7e66bfaf46eb4c859a5ddad38b0d6960baf814a" "9efc9711d6f50399a0069690545aef7ada82b620a92c"
"9d1975dd129a91b5ffa4da4008924e160a1f27324f67" "2eb6885ee5d9ab4f79c7ae41fbdcdecdc07e870261bf"
"c0e506e7b89f0ee73d0d46458ec497b2308f123833c6" "f360e30d451f713fa8cb4d437e8eea44d3373fc1958b"
"db98977ab703cdfedf3b86cdcd521b371cd9156e0944" "8bb944abdffc9045b3f0b781e8d64693363f5ed6ee3d"
"f6ebda18ab33a834dc1e450fa06fcb1e23a663d3fb6a" "a02146d421a457bde00a9c7fd4a7947c0fca7c09997c"
"91dda496d18f6a938aa0dde348379c8dc19f64275cfb" "3946ef33508fc4a461c48244952fdee309ebf6fb4584"
"0cae57ae7d5b2bea51f4b3a64ab6c721c04e580a44f5" "0a0b60b9839e27cbbd2061cc5650e94edd5812157a1b"
"2b7a934d375add9b05d435fbb53f3bde09f02c0741b5" "a5ec585c3a4f2a16edb1d60742d99eeadd72a8471fc4"
"e00aa6ec49fc3153e2adcba380318ab19198e934c635" "5fc4bed31467b30518e3be4fec19cae24a4ce99f60b8"
"a07b630b0996a7fc8596546dbe5d44f1d95d3ee9245b" "0dbe1055d8906b7f6116589a8907af3616ba3bf2d4b0"
"7bb8d8fdf6aca452bf5545e0da002fe128542948de4d" "3da042ec7f4abf34348f404df3769965bd6f15ef3dd6"
"e63d2ee8b7869c005319dee912fa37251b101eb0f2b5" "e5b110ea924a4dd5d6145a7d230206137e79e6c40823"
"118ebeeac16e15c45807877b287206e180e9d3773046" "075a478df8380a3eb745d42b817d0f7aaeea5cfc7ef6"
"d0451db1f7774919f1418c48b9c5d7f64ad0f63a108d" "f1699a6b5ebbeba4aa611b692291afc4e3b63ad8479a"
"b5eb6a70aa16a068ff0f857fd628f0372fb652d66006" "513af442854fa59c1c023c0f772acbc25d5e94456e5a"
"b14602a1a825c80ff5a60320dd42c76f59d858211bc5" "701718a35d2f3cdaa72d036a01f40d44fec359780fac"
"ab79a99f706f33f99d877643db01769384080c9231cd" "33d8295b2330572b569efced74d85257863f8f9ba2a4"
"ea02e67c94530f3b7229c77df1ca26692502f204b8ff" "9099b9cd027abface7442af98bf3462a4c42cf42bd17"
"9f67267c614a719fed46b583904d2f963540f2f3df2e" "d46371566a019a3ed89c70f3a8f0b70e61a2b6dfaa55"
"7cc016feeded44cae09890ce380c42853f8d92d60b79" "4727508e4fb56f8bd4a712840d33df0b3e25f0913a07"
"0538088f3cf28728c095bcb4371eaad9885b91740e5d" "82e172f32a83238020a035433721b32372aaa52811da"
"85ee0ba5f2772e82a3a8e666f816ba7544bb4ae9c70d" "e5315cab1571ebbd1d2f348f488ad76650bbb1179ae1"
"b1984dcea1bc1a4f975bef205633589f00c24866fe51" "a2eec91c7c8031b1669ab843afdffeb9a6753f16df11"
"30f148c8e3fe45cc58eca41e6e7392024ee662176c7e" "fb138f807144a8bab3e01bb9087bcb2c66671baa16f4"
"fd651d745c677070976c8cafba0993bcd047c58d57a9" "25ebca1886dc1bb09ab93dc79af13b2b2e9be247c1b4"
"46bd0073ce0cb382091473db54417ca5fc648e3930f4" "24f090d403bd9dfb951fdbe452a08d0250c488f71081"
"2b1bd4b35020b9e13fbd8e42c4a75c47b522cabe64e6" "4abd463f607a03bb71acae3764c69173f7744e255eed"
"59b5caaef6052dcb478d78c76a1051afee9735ca6bc6" "8e18fd95538928f84f949ed0b54dfb45d370ec43d9c3"
"acbd3f10389a1cb628c1185ee13ae375a3c0fa5a45ef" "8975a718cbaf7a0e46930708554053ecf512859f290a"
"b122528b7d10570fcfeda5d425b5641b0c615f391786" "f9d6e4e31cb4ba955e6288a526bfff9ef431070d89a3"
"f7ce040edd3b64fee553ab5aa65a62226c3ff3960137" "2d511766ee8d0d6729529ffccf5f49ddd57a06fc48dd"
"6218380035b4bec12a0b277d74ea61370f55f7a520a5" "3412896174fe1cc0029f9633986dd21ee46646e59329"
"6c220bf626d2ef1863ed1dd8c5d84b1218c8ec1de03c" "ea6798ca555efac39031a120ad7328f54985057921ff"
"b9412ff4a110ea7d7e1b3f369f34b5be730df2a02f30" "b197c4a1a6e001d10c8ae7ec84f392cab3fd8231d7bd"
"a73b222a479ef5c6b0f8118b642d18a130ce5ce5fc26" "cfc4e234bd74f6858305f1bac91bf00ae72db308fddc"
end

as you can see they are pretty unreadable. These data were given to me by a third party in .csv format. My question is: are these simply unreadable data or do I have to use a specific formatting option to deal with them?

[Nick Cox]

What you would do with them? At most they look fit for mapping to simple identifiers 1 up.

[Leonardo Guizzetti]

The person who can answer that is the person who generated this data for you. They look like hashes of email and phone numbers to me, which would be completely useless other than used as pseudonymous identifiers as suggested by Nick.

[Federico Nutarelli]

So I think that they are encripted data. Since I do not have the key, I guess they are encripted for privacy reasons. My first doubt was whether I was not able for some reason to read the .csv file properly (e.g., wrong formatting), which might have also compromised other strings in the data.

I think everything is solved by the way. Thank you a lot for the reply!