Before diving into QuickHash, I would like to show you the table of contents.
A Hash is a
function that converts one value to another. Hashing data is a
common practice in computers and it is used for several
different purposes. Examples include cryptography, compression, checksum generation,
and data indexing.
The most common types of hash are:
• MD5
• SHA-1
• SHA-3
• SHA256
• SHA512
The most
common purpose of hash is to verify files. It can be really good to identify
files that are modified while being downloaded.
Quickhash
is a simple hash verifier with a GUI (Graphical User Interface). Quickhash can
be used to verify text, file(s), disk(s), but our main purpose is to verify
file(s).
There is a
lot of hash verifiers on the internet, but I am specially choosing Quickhash because
it works on most of the operating systems like Windows, Mac OS X & Linux.
The first step is to go
to the website of QuickHash.
Download QuickHash
according to your operating system.
After downloading the file you will
see a zip file in your download location.
Extract the
zip file using an extraction tool like 7Zip or Winrar.
Once the
file has been extracted, create a new folder named “Quickhash” and move all the
extracted files in it.
You will
see 4 files in the “Quickhash” folder.
The main file is the “Quickhash-GUI” file.
Double
clicking on the “Quickhash-GUI” file will open the GUI (Graphical User Interface) of Quickhash.
Done! Now we
are ready to use QuickHash.
The first
step is to get the hash of the downloaded file. Most of the time, the hash of
the file is given on the website of the software/file. If the hash isn’t given,
then the file cannot be verified, but you can still verify those files that
don't have a hash, by using Hybrid Analysis.
The above
image is an example of a hash given by a website.
The second
step is to open QuickHash.
After opening the GUI (Graphical User Interface) of QuickHash, go to the “File” tab.
On the left side of the screen, you will see an “Algorithm” box, in that box select the type of hash given by the website.
Paste the
hash given by the website in the “Expected Hash Value” textbox.
You will
also see a button called “Select File”, click on that button to select the
downloaded file.
Immediately
after selecting the file, a pop-up window will appear, the pop-up window will show the
status of the verification of file.
If the file
was not modified then a pop-up window saying “Expected hash MATCHES the
computed file hash!” will appear, and if the file was modified then a pop-up
window saying “Expected hash DOES NOT match the computed file hash!” will
appear.