File Verifier++ is an Open Source software for the Windows operating system that can create and store hash values of selected files and check their integrity whenever it is needed.

It begins by adding files or directories with files to the program. A click on files or dirs in the main menubar opens a file and folder browser to do that. all files are then added to the program listing and hashes are calculated automatically for them.

Information such as the file path on the system, hash, encoding, algorithm used to compute the has, size, modification time and verification are displayed in a table in the main interface.

The message log details which operations have been started and completed in the program. This includes how many files have been processed at what speed and time.

File listings can be stored on the computer system to load and verify them against the file hashes of existing programs.

Identical (or valid) files are highlighted in green, files that fail the verification check in red. Files can also be highlighted in blue if the hash and file size is identical but the modification date differs. The program does not only use a files hash to verify its integrity but also the file size, file attributes and modification time.

The default algorithm used is MD5, the program does support several other algorithms including CRC, SHA or RMD.

File Verifier++ Features

• Can load and save results to and from various formats.
• Hash algorithms can be added through the DLL interface.
• Hash verification. Can load hash results and compare to what is actually on your disk.
• Color coding of validity states
• Verification considers file size, file attributes, and modification date to be significant.
• Drag and drop support.
• Recursive directory processing.
• Recursive processing using patterns.
• Calculates hashes on strings.
• Search and grep using regular expressions.
• Selective verification.
• Unicode support (recognizes Unicode file names and writes results encoded in UTF-8 (without BOM))
• Supports Windows XP Visual Styles
• Shell Integration (Shell extension).
• Can be installed using installer or without.
• Command line version. (in beta)

File Verifier++ comes with several extras that are accessible through the file menu. It is for instance possible to use the advanced processing module to process multiple directories with select patterns or regular expressions as filters.

The program is fully compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the Windows operating system. The portable version can be run from any location, ideal for storing it with the file verification information on burned CDs, DVDs or other backup storage locations.

But file integrity can be important on the local PC as well. A program like Exact File can tell you exactly if someone modified your Word or Excel document, or played your game just a little bit further.

Exact File is a free file integrity tool for the Windows operating system. It can process single files or batch process complete folders. The software supports all important hash methods including MD5, SHA512, CRC32 and about a dozen more.

Options to create checksums for single or multiple files, as well as to verify the integrity of already checked files are offered in the program’s interface.

A single-file check works by dragging and dropping a file into the interface, or selecting it in the file browser. ExactFile will compute all supported hashes and display a report in the end listing them all.

The generated information can be copied to the clipboard. More interesting is the ability to create a digest. A digest contains hash values of all files found in a selected folder and its subfolders.

It is again possible to drag and drop a folder into the program window, or to use the file browser to pick a folder from the system. Available options are to include subfolders, full paths in the output and to out the checksums to a file.

All supported hash methods are available, but only one can be selected for the process.

ExactFile will process all files in the selected folder structure and display a similar results window in the end.

The calculations are speedy and use all available cpu cores by default. The results are stored in the selected file and displayed to the user directly. It is here again possible to copy them to the clipboard.

The test digest menu is available to test a previously generated folder hash. All it takes is to select the digest file, click verbose report and then go to compare the previously generated hash values of the files with the current ones.

One interesting application for this would be to generate the hashes before sending the files to another user. The receiving user could then test the validity of the files by running the previously generated checksum file against the received files.

An option to create a test file applet is available to make this easier. Instead of having to use the file integrity software to check the files, it is possible to generate and use a standalone executable generated by the program to do the same. Ideal for putting it on burned CDs or DVDs, or sending it along with the files for the recipient to check.

Exact File is a sophisticated file verification tool for the Windows operating system. Especially the option to test and verify the integrity of all files in a folder is welcome, coupled with the option to create a standalone executable to verify the integrity at all times.

What the developer of Exact File says:

• A file integrity verification tool:

  Use it to make sure files copied to CD-ROM are bit-perfect copies,
  Use it to make sure backups copied from one drive to another are just right,
  Use it to make sure files haven’t been changed or damaged over time.

• Multi-threaded, so your extra CPU cores get used when scanning multiple files and work gets done faster.
• Happy with Unicode file names, so it doesn’t fail when you’re using it on files named in Japanese, Hebrew, Chinese, or any other language.
• Supports multiple checksum routines (hashes), like MD5, SHA1, CRC32, RIPEMD and others.
• Supports recursive directory scanning.
• Supports Very Big Files — If it’s on your hard drive, ExactFile can handle it.
• Does everything popular file summer utilities do, like fsum, md5sum, sha1sum, sfv, etc, but better!
• Compatible with popular file checksum digest formats.
• For Windows 2000, XP, and Vista.
• GUI. Easy to use to get checksums for individual files, create checksum digests, and test checksum digests. Does not require the console version or any external DLLs.

Interested users can download Exactfile from the developer homepage. The program is compatible with most 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system.

HashTab adds a new tab to the Windows file properties dialog that displays various hashes that have been calculated by the software. These hashes can then be compared with the values provided by their source to verify the file integrity and make sure that the file has not been tampered with.

This method works nicely when downloading software and files from various popular software portals as these usually display at least one sort of hash on the download page so that the users can verify the file integrity. But that is just one example. It can also be used to verify files after downloading them from friends or colleagues.

The hashes that are displayed can be altered in the program’s options. It is theoretically possible to add all 15 different algorithms to the tab. Another interesting option is the ability to compare a file on the same computer system which takes only a few seconds as a second file has to be selected from a local hard drive.

HashTab is still one of the best software programs to verify the file integrity of files on a computer system. Let us know if you find a changelog or information about the changes that the developer has made in the new version.

It is therefor recommended to verify the file integrity of backups regularly to make sure that they can still be used to recover data if the need should arise. Nothing’s worse than to realize that the backups are unusable.

File Check MD5 is a small portable software for Windows that has been designed for that specific purpose. It can be used to compute MD5 hashes of all files in a specific root folder including subfolders. All computed MD5 hashes will be stored in a text file in that root folder.

The Check Files option can then be used to check files on the backup storage with the MD5 hashes of the original files to ensure data integrity.

One interesting option of the software program is to test the md5 hashes that have been previously computed if the text file is located in the same folder as the executable. It would then only be a matter of adding the File Check MD5 software and the text file with the MD5 hashes to the root of the backup to be able to automatically verify the file integrity.

The only thing that is missing is the ability to select a different storage location for the MD5 hashes. This would make it possible to run the software on read only devices as well.

The software program does not act automatically. The user has to select files or folders that he wants to calculate hash values for. Once they are stored in the database it is possible to check the files at anytime to see if the file has been changed in the meantime.

A set of 21 different hash algorithms including popular algorithms like MD5, SHA-512 or CRC-32 is available and at the user’s disposal. Results can be saved or loaded so that they are available whenever they are needed.

Other interesting options include Windows Shell integration, a command line version, drag and drop support, Unicode support or search and grep using regular expressions. All in all a very sophisticated tool to check the file integrity of selected files.