How to generate MD5 in Windows
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Works With
-Windows 10 Version 1903 OS Build 18362.836
There are times when you need to generate an MD5 to know if something you’ve downloaded from the internet was not altered from the original. MD5, being one of the most commonly used cryptographic hash function has its own throes and limitations.
Nevertheless, having the tools will always come in handy, in case you need to validate a file using MD5 there is a utility called CertUtil.
Certutil.exe is a command-line program, installed as part of Certificate Services. You can use certutil.exe to dump and display certification authority (CA) configuration information, configure Certificate Services, backup and restore CA components, and verify certificates, key pairs, and certificate chains.
Check CertUtil Here.
Steps and Sample Usage:
- Hit Windows + R, to open the command window
- At the command prompt, type the following CertUtil -hashfile LocationAndFileName
Where:
–CertUtil – is the command
–hashfile – the parameters, we are telling CertUtil to generate a hash of the file
–LocationAndFileName – the location and name of file to generate an MD5 hash
- You can use a diff tool like WinMerge to validate if the MD5 cryptographic hash between the source and downloaded file is exactly the same.