File integrity checker tool is an important addition to any file encryption software. It can detect any suspicious activity that tries to alter changes to your files, folders or system settings. Now, you might think why you need file integrity checker tool when you already have encryption software to encrypt your data, making it unreadable to anyone who doesn't have the key. It is true that encryption software make your data invisible to outsiders, but when you are using the internet the data stored in your computer might get tampered with.
The Threat That You Can't See
Sometimes when you are working on the internet, some sites may have may run suspicious software. Malicious programs such as the Trojan are frequently used by hackers to steal data from systems or make changes to the system settings. These programs sometimes may go undetected by your antivirus program. Malicious programs work stealthily while you are unaware of its activities. Likewise, when you send your data over the internet through an unsecured channel, how do you know it's not been compromised? This is where file integrity checker comes to play.
How Does a File Integrity Checker Help You?
A file Integrity checker is a great tool that ensures your data remains unaltered by using an error detection mechanism. Its job is to validate that the integrity of your data has not been compromised. A file Integrity checker tool uses functions known as the hash to perform validation. A hash accepts the content of your data as an input and produces a fixed size output. If your file or data has been compromised, even slightly, the output will be different. This way you can check the value of your data and compare them. Not just that, the tool can detect changes and determine what triggered the changes. This helps individual and organizations in identifying where or what exactly the problem was.
Hash Algorithms That Help Validating Integrity of Files
File integrity checker tool uses various hash algorithms to perform validation of the data. Some of the most used hash algorithms are:
• MD5: It is a widely used cryptographic hash function producing a 128-bit hash value, typically expressed in text format as a 32 digit hexadecimal number.
• RIPMED-160: It stands for RACE Integrity Primitives Evaluation Message Digest. RIPEMD-160 is an improved, 160-bit version of the original RIPEMD, and the most common version in the family.
• SHA-1: SHA-1 is a cryptographic hash function and stands for "secure hash algorithm". SHA-1 produces a 160-bit (20-byte) hash value and is typically rendered as a hexadecimal number, 40 digits long.
• SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512: These algorithms are part of SHA-2 suite of cryptographic hash functions. They produce hash outputs of sizes indicated by their suffixes.
File integrity checker is an important tool that helps validate data integrity. It may not prevent the changes made by any suspicious program, but timely alert can prevent greater loss of data. When you are choosing file encryption software, make sure the file integrity checker feature is there too.
FileArmour is free file encryption software that enables you to encrypt and decrypt files using time- tested, proven, cryptographically strong encryption algorithms. FileArmour also contains a useful file integrity checker tool. For more information visit: http://www.filearmour.com/
The Threat That You Can't See
Sometimes when you are working on the internet, some sites may have may run suspicious software. Malicious programs such as the Trojan are frequently used by hackers to steal data from systems or make changes to the system settings. These programs sometimes may go undetected by your antivirus program. Malicious programs work stealthily while you are unaware of its activities. Likewise, when you send your data over the internet through an unsecured channel, how do you know it's not been compromised? This is where file integrity checker comes to play.
How Does a File Integrity Checker Help You?
A file Integrity checker is a great tool that ensures your data remains unaltered by using an error detection mechanism. Its job is to validate that the integrity of your data has not been compromised. A file Integrity checker tool uses functions known as the hash to perform validation. A hash accepts the content of your data as an input and produces a fixed size output. If your file or data has been compromised, even slightly, the output will be different. This way you can check the value of your data and compare them. Not just that, the tool can detect changes and determine what triggered the changes. This helps individual and organizations in identifying where or what exactly the problem was.
Hash Algorithms That Help Validating Integrity of Files
File integrity checker tool uses various hash algorithms to perform validation of the data. Some of the most used hash algorithms are:
• MD5: It is a widely used cryptographic hash function producing a 128-bit hash value, typically expressed in text format as a 32 digit hexadecimal number.
• RIPMED-160: It stands for RACE Integrity Primitives Evaluation Message Digest. RIPEMD-160 is an improved, 160-bit version of the original RIPEMD, and the most common version in the family.
• SHA-1: SHA-1 is a cryptographic hash function and stands for "secure hash algorithm". SHA-1 produces a 160-bit (20-byte) hash value and is typically rendered as a hexadecimal number, 40 digits long.
• SHA-256, SHA-384 and SHA-512: These algorithms are part of SHA-2 suite of cryptographic hash functions. They produce hash outputs of sizes indicated by their suffixes.
File integrity checker is an important tool that helps validate data integrity. It may not prevent the changes made by any suspicious program, but timely alert can prevent greater loss of data. When you are choosing file encryption software, make sure the file integrity checker feature is there too.
FileArmour is free file encryption software that enables you to encrypt and decrypt files using time- tested, proven, cryptographically strong encryption algorithms. FileArmour also contains a useful file integrity checker tool. For more information visit: http://www.filearmour.com/
