<s>
A	O
random	B-Algorithm
seed	I-Algorithm
(	O
or	O
seed	O
state	O
,	O
or	O
just	O
seed	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
number	O
(	O
or	O
vector	B-Data_Structure
)	O
used	O
to	O
initialize	B-Algorithm
a	O
pseudorandom	B-Algorithm
number	I-Algorithm
generator	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
a	O
seed	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
a	O
pseudorandom	B-Algorithm
number	I-Algorithm
generator	I-Algorithm
,	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
random	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
nature	O
of	O
number	O
generating	O
algorithms	O
,	O
so	O
long	O
as	O
the	O
original	O
seed	O
is	O
ignored	O
,	O
the	O
rest	O
of	O
the	O
values	O
that	O
the	O
algorithm	O
generates	O
will	O
follow	O
probability	O
distribution	O
in	O
a	O
pseudorandom	B-Error_Name
manner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
pseudorandom	B-Algorithm
number	I-Algorithm
generator	I-Algorithm
's	O
number	O
sequence	O
is	O
completely	O
determined	O
by	O
the	O
seed	O
:	O
thus	O
,	O
if	O
a	O
pseudorandom	B-Algorithm
number	I-Algorithm
generator	I-Algorithm
is	O
reinitialized	O
with	O
the	O
same	O
seed	O
,	O
it	O
will	O
produce	O
the	O
same	O
sequence	O
of	O
numbers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
choice	O
of	O
a	O
good	O
random	B-Algorithm
seed	I-Algorithm
is	O
crucial	O
in	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
computer	O
security	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
High	O
entropy	B-Algorithm
is	O
important	O
for	O
selecting	O
good	O
random	B-Algorithm
seed	I-Algorithm
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
same	O
random	B-Algorithm
seed	I-Algorithm
is	O
deliberately	O
shared	O
,	O
it	O
becomes	O
a	O
secret	O
key	O
,	O
so	O
two	O
or	O
more	O
systems	O
using	O
matching	O
pseudorandom	B-Error_Name
number	I-Error_Name
algorithms	O
and	O
matching	O
seeds	O
can	O
generate	O
matching	O
sequences	O
of	O
non-repeating	O
numbers	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
synchronize	O
remote	O
systems	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
GPS	O
satellites	O
and	O
receivers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Random	B-Algorithm
seeds	I-Algorithm
are	O
often	O
generated	O
from	O
the	O
state	O
of	O
the	O
computer	O
system	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
time	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
cryptographically	B-Algorithm
secure	I-Algorithm
pseudorandom	I-Algorithm
number	I-Algorithm
generator	I-Algorithm
or	O
from	O
a	O
hardware	O
random	O
number	O
generator	O
.	O
</s>
