In cryptography there are many one way encryption algorithms which are used to generate a unique checksum or hash for the input data. When the input data changes, so does the calculated checksum or hash for the data. This is why these hash algorithms are used to identify the data by comparing the hashes for a given set of data.
For example, if you calculate the hash for a file and later do the same to find a different hash, then it means that the file contents have been modified. Because the file contents have been modified, the file hash has changed too.
There are dozens of hashing algorithms such as MD5, RipeMD, SHA-256 etc. We can use a free tool called Yubsoft Hash which supports more than 34 hashing algorithms. This hashing tool is also very easy to use as it supports drag-n-drop interface. You can also click on the “Choose File” or “Choose Folder” buttons to selected the files.
In order to calculate the file hash for a file, you can launch Yubsoft Hash and then drag-n-drop that file on the Yubsoft Hash window. It will instantly calculate and display all types of hashes for that file. If you decide to calculate the file hashes for all the files inside a folder, then you can drag-n-drop that folder on the Yubsoft Hash window. In the case of the folder, it is going to use the SHA-256 hashing algorithm to find the hashes of all the files in that folder. All these hashes are displayed in the Yubsoft Hash window.
To save time and processing power of your PC, you an stop Yubsoft Hash from generating too many hashes. In the settings, we can select only a few hashing algorithms to be used for calculating the file hashes.
You can download Yubsoft Hash from https://www.yubsoft.com/hash.html.