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What Are Cryptographic Hashes?

Overview​

This article explains the purpose of cryptographic hashes. Verifying cryptographic hashes ensures the integrity and authenticity of files downloaded from Endpoint Protector.

Instructions​

Using Cryptographic Hashes​

As a data security vendor, Endpoint Protector provides cryptographic hashes on product download pages to help you verify that you have received unaltered files. Checksum algorithms, such as MD5 and SHA256, generate a unique fingerprint for each file, allowing you to detect errors or tampering that may have occurred during transmission or storage.

To confirm file integrity, use the Terminal or a checksum utility to calculate the hash for files downloaded from the Endpoint Protector website. If the hash you calculate matches the one provided, you can be certain the file is intact. SHA and MD5 utilities are available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Calculating MD5 and SHA256 on Linux​

Most Linux distributions provide built-in commands for calculating MD5 and SHA256 message digests:

Terminal showing MD5 checksum calculation on Linux Terminal showing SHA256 checksum calculation on Linux

Calculating MD5 and SHA256 on Windows​

Several tools are available for Windows. The File Checksum Integrity Verifier (FCIV) utility can be used to calculate MD5 and SHA256 checksums. For more information, see File Checksum Integrity Verifier ⸱ Microsoft 🡥.

Calculating MD5 and SHA256 on macOS​

macOS provides command-line utilities for calculating message digests. Depending on the OS version, some commands may vary. The following example shows the recommended method:

Terminal showing MD5 checksum calculation on macOS Terminal showing SHA256 checksum calculation on macOS