Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Informativo mdv17171
Informativo mdv17171
INTRODUCTION
======================
===============
USAGE
===============
OPTION switches:
-B Base64 encoded output, instead of default hex format
-b Bare output, no path headers
-e Exit immediately; don't pause before returning
-n No percent done indicator
-p Pause before returning (incompatible with -e)
-s Display statistics at end (hashing speed)
-u Mimic output of UNIX md5 command (implies -b, -n)
Examples:
md5sums c:\temp
md5sums original.doc copy*.doc backup*.doc
md5sums -n -e d:\incoming > log
==================
WARRANTY
==================
=========================
VERSION HISTORY
=========================
==================
FEATURES
==================
The UNIX compatibility switch (-u) makes the output look like that
from the Linux/BSD/UNIX md5 or md5sum commands.
Besides the normal command line usage (see examples above), MD5sums
can also be easily added to the windows shell. Use Windows Explorer
to access your user profile directory (one level up from the "Start
Menu" directory). Locate the "SendTo" folder and create a shortcut
inside it to "md5sums -p" (pause before returning).
If you have trouble locating your user profile directory, try this
at the command prompt: echo %userprofile%
After adding MD5sums to the SendTo folder, you can select one or
more files on the desktop (or in any other folder), and right-click
to "Send To" md5sums. Each selected file will be processed.
===============================
ABOUT THE MD5 PROCESS
===============================
The MD5 Message Digest Algorithm takes an input (in this case, a
file) and produces a 128-bit (or 16 byte) output, which can be
represented as a string of 32 hexadecimal values. This output is
a 'fingerprint' or 'message digest' for the file.
You will often find an MD5 value supplied along with files you
download off of the internet. By comparing the supplied MD5 value
to the actual value computed by the MD5sums utility, you can make
sure that the file has not been tampered with or modified.
This is a good way to both verify that the file has not been
damaged during electronic transfers, and also to verify that the
file you are getting has not been tampered with.
Note that recent research has shown that MD5 computations are not
as immune to collisions as thought earlier. While MD5 hashes are
still excellent for file comparisons, for cryptographic strength
it is recommended that one uses a stronger hash such as SHA-1.
- Jem Berkes