You are now entering the PC Anatomy portal

A checksum is a fixed-sized string of characters computed from a block of digital data to detect errors or tampering that may occur during transmission or storage. A checksum algorithm takes the data as input, processes it to produce a unique value, and then stores or transmits this value alongside the data. When the data is received or retrieved, the same algorithm is applied again; if the newly computed checksum doesn't match the original, it indicates the data has been corrupted or altered.

How it works:

Computation: An algorithm performs a calculation on the original data to generate a fixed-size "checksum" value.

Storage/Transmission: This checksum is stored or sent with the data.

Verification: When the data is accessed or received, the same algorithm is used to compute a new checksum from the existing data.

Comparison: The new checksum is compared to the original stored checksum.

Error Detection: If the two checksums do not match, it signifies an error or modification in the data.