A checksum is a value that represents the number of bits in a transmission message and is used by IT professionals to detect high-level errors within data transmissions. Prior to transmission, every piece of data or file can be assigned a checksum value after running a cryptographic hash function. The term checksum is also sometimes called hash sum or hash value.
Checksums work by giving the party on the receiving end information about the transmission to ensure that the full range of data is delivered. The checksum value itself is typically a long string of letters and numbers that act as a sort of fingerprint for a file or set of files to indicate the number of bits included in the transmission.
If the checksum value the user calculates is even slightly different from the checksum value of the original file, it can alert all parties in the transmission that the file was corrupted or tampered with by a third party, such as in the case of malware. From there, the receiver can investigate what went wrong or try downloading the file again.
The common protocols used to determine checksum numbers are Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP). TCP is typically more reliable for tracking transmitted packets of data, but UDP may be beneficial to avoid slowing down transmission time.
While checksum values that don't match can signal something went wrong during transmission, a few factors can cause this to happen, such as the following:
There are multiple cryptographic hash functions that programmers can use to generate checksum values. A few common ones are the following:
To verify that a file hasn't been tampered with, the MD5 hash of that file should be verified. Also, when installing drivers for patches, it's important to ensure that the downloaded files are complete.
The MD5 hash is a cryptographic checksum that can be checked on either a PC or laptop. It can also be verified on different operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, Linux and Apple macOS.
The result of the checksum can be compared and verified with the expected results.
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12 Dec 2022