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I've downloaded an application. I would like to make sure that it is what was presented, and there's a checksum to do so.

I'm making some assumptions, but I believe I need a checksum verifier.

I thought this might be useful, since it's from Microsoft:

Microsoft File Checksum Integrity Verifier tool
Version: 1.0
File Name: Windows-KB841290-x86-ENU.exe
Date Published: 8/22/2012
File Size: 117 KB

...and downloading another checksum verifier without being able to check that it's not been hacked, is a chicken-and-egg problem.

But, it appears that doesn't work with Windows 8 (Which may explain why I'm unable to get it to install)

What should I use (or how should I go about) confirming a checksum for a downloaded installer on Windows-8

what can be used to find the sha2 checksum of a file in windows

Has one reply with a bunch of 3rd party apps. Is there no official way to do checksums?

Z Kubota
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RandomUser
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  • I use this: http://code.kliu.org/hashcheck/ – magicandre1981 Mar 21 '16 at 16:33
  • You should add that as an actual answer so I can select it as the best answer so far. Still a 3rd party tool, but better than nothing (and looks real light-weight, non-hog, and open-source). Also, worked on my installation of win-8. – RandomUser Mar 22 '16 at 08:45

2 Answers2

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On Windows 7 and 8, open a cmd terminal and type:

certutil -hashfile C:\Users\Jane\Downloads\SampleProgramfile.exe MD5

It will return something like this -

MD5 hash of file C:\Users\Jane\Downloads\SampleProgramfile.exe:
23 a7 50 d9 c8 6a fe 4e 3b 99 f9 87 6a 7c d4 02
CertUtil: -hashfile command completed successfully.

Check that those numbers match the ones provided by the software author.

Instead of MD5 you can also use SHA1, SHA256, SHA384, and SHA512.

Microsoft's docs are here.

Stephen Rauch
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Z Kubota
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There is pre-installed utility, accessible from the command-line (right swipe, search cmd), called CertUtil, use it like this: 

CertUtil -hashfile Downloads\Stupid_Program-2.2.2-win64.exe SHA1

You can use tab-completion to autofill files and directories. I know 'SHA1' and 'MD5' are working, and probably others as well.

RandomUser
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