Hash Codes

Whenever you send a file by email or by using the FTP service, you need to be sure that the integrity of the file hasn't changed. The same goes when copying a file from a CD or DVD disc. Scratches and optical drive errors can corrupt a file and can modify its contained data. The most used method for checking the integrity of a file is by calculating its CRC32, MD5 and SHA-1 codes. These hash codes can tell if a file has been changed, by checking them for the initial and last version of the file.

A program which allows you to calculate the hash values for any file is Hash Codes. This Windows program can quickly display the CRC, MD5 and SHA-1 codes for any kind of file, no matter its size and format. The program does not need to be installed and it's enough to run the executable file which was downloaded from the producer's website.

After running the application, one will just need to select the desired file. At this point, the hash values for it will be automatically calculated and the user will be able to compare them with the older hash values, which were calculated from another version of a file. By calculating these values, you can quickly check if the file is exactly the same or it has been changed or corrupted.