3nity File Integrity Utility is a simple option for verifying that downloaded files match the original.

If you download files from the internet, it can be useful to verify that the file received has not been changed in some way from the original. This difference could be by the site you are downloading from, download process corruption, or potentially the most dangerous, the file has been infected by malicious software.

One option for identifying whether a file has been altered is to check its digital signature, but this can be a flawed litmus test because some smaller developers may not have one. You can also check file integrity via the hash value. Every file has unique data, and when you apply an algorithm called a “cryptographic hash function” to it, a string value is returned for verification purposes. If any data in the file is changed, even 1 byte, the value given will be different from the first value. Armed with this information, you know if the file is altered before using it.

3nity File Integrity Utility will hash and verify Files through various secure algorithms: Haval 256, MD4, MD5, RipeMD-128, RipeMd-160, SHA1, SHA256, SHA384, SHA512, Tiger.