MD5 and SHA1 checksum uses for downloading

Posted by Zac on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Zac
Published on 2011-01-02T15:06:46Z Indexed on 2011/01/02 15:56 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 257

Filed under:

hashing

I notice that when downloading a lot of open source tools (Eclipse, etc.) there are links for MD5 and SHA1 checksums, and didn't know what these were or what their purpose was.

I know these are hashing algorithms, and I do understand hashing, so my only guess is that these are used for hashing some component of the download targets, and to compare them with "official" hash strings stored server-side. Perhaps that way it can be determined whether or not the targets have been modified from their correct version (for security and other purposes).

Am I close or completely wrong, and if wrong, what are they?!?!

Thanks!

Related posts about hashing

Is hashing of just "username + password" as safe as salted hashing

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
I want to hash "user + password". EDIT: prehashing "user" would be an improvement, so my question is also for hashing "hash(user) + password". If cross-site same user is a problem then the hashing changed to hashing "hash(serviceName + user) + password" From what I read about salted hash, using… >>> More
Index Hashing vs Normal Hashing

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
What is index hashing ? What are its advantages over regular hashing techniques ? >>> More
Secure hash and salt for PHP passwords

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
It is currently said that MD5 is partially unsafe. Taking this into consideration, I'd like to know which mechanism to use for password protection. Is “double hashing” a password less secure than just hashing it once? Suggests that hashing multiple times may be a good idea. How to implement password… >>> More
SHA512 vs. Blowfish and Bcrypt

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I'm looking at hashing algorithms, but couldn't find an answer. Bcrypt uses Blowfish Blowfish is better than MD5 Q: but is Blowfish better than SHA512? Thanks.. Update: I want to clarify that I understand the difference between hashing and encryption. What prompted me to ask the question… >>> More
Do encryption algorithms require an internal hashing algorithm?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
When I use C# to implement the AES symmetric encryption cipher, I noticed: PasswordDeriveBytes derivedPassword = new PasswordDeriveBytes(password, saltBytesArray, hashAlgorithmName, numPasswordIterations); Why do I need to use a hashing algorithm for AES encryption? Aren't they separate? Or is… >>> More

Developer IT