When you’re downloading a file off of the internet, like an installer for a program or even a full disc image for a version of Linux or Windows, it can be hard to know if the file is trustworthy, or if it may have been modified to contain a virus. So how do you know if something is safe to use?
The best method is by using a “checksum” or a file-hash. These are often long strings of letters and numbers and are almost always provided by the site you’re downloading from. It’s like a fingerprint, unique to that file – which means if the version number of the program has changed, you can bet that the checksum has, too! So here’s a great little tutorial for learning how to use checksums.
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