Useful Windows Shell Extension for file hash strings

[AceInfinity]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WUP1na7Ctg[/yt]

So here's my 4th or 5th SupportForums video tutorial I think This one i've uploaded at full resolution, so the video is at a higher quality than 1080p HD! You shouldn't have any problems viewing it.

Here's a general computer Windows Shell Extension that I've found to be very, very useful. It's called "HashTab," and it will add another tab in the properties context menu for any file that will enable you to compare or check the common hash types as a string value for that file.

This is really good, because you don't have to download and use a program to do this for you anymore, it's all in the properties for the file instead.

This will work for 64 and 32 bit versions of Windows, and there is also a download for Mac versions as well.

Download Link

[AceInfinity]

I believe this should get a bump for how valuable this post is in my opinion. No replies so far, and it got dropped to the bottom from spammers for the 100 posts yesterday.

I would highly recommend that someone takes the time to review this windows shell extension for how useful it is. The installer will add HashTab32.dll, and HasTab64.dll to your system so you don't have to worry about compatibility issues between Windows 32, and 64 bit. There's also a download on the site for a Mac version as well.

Enjoy

[Nemmyy]

Nice guide and pretty detailed. Would be nice with some audio (voice, not music) but it doesn't really matter.
Not sure exactly when I would use this though. Any examples?

[AceInfinity]

Say you have a download from Piratebay or a forum that you aren't sure is legit. (You suspect a virus)

You can download the original file from the trusted site, and use this windows shell extension to compare the MD5 hash of both of the files to determine if the file has been tampered with or not. If it has the MD5 hash will be different than the original.

OR:

Say you have a file that gives out a Virus scan (CLEAN) from Virus Total. Down near the bottom you'll see an area that says "MD5 hash"

If you download the file, and the MD5 hash is the same by using this windows shell extension, then the file hasn't been tampered with since the virus scan and your download should be clean, else if the MD5 is different, then the file has been tampered with since the virus scan and you can probably assume a virus.

This is one of the quickest ways to get a hash value from a file or compare hashes from 2 different files. With support for CRC32 and SHA-1 hashes as well which are also common.

[Nemmyy]

Ah, that's exactly what I was thinking but I wasn't completely sure.
I usually only download things from places I trust, but I'm sure this will be very helpful for some people and possibly for myself in the future.

[AceInfinity]

Ah, that's exactly what I was thinking but I wasn't completely sure.
I usually only download things from places I trust, but I'm sure this will be very helpful for some people and possibly for myself in the future.

Glad you can find a use for it

What most people do not know is that a virus scan doesn't do anything just by looking at whether it's clean or not, you have to make sure that it's the same file that they scanned which was clean in order to make it useful lol.

I can post a virus that has a scan up of a different file that was clean pretty easily as well, and put the same filename to it That's why you have to take the information from the virus scan and use it to determine the validity of the file.

I don't trust picture uploaded virus scans either since they can be easily tampered with.

This tutorial didn't need a lot of explanation however, the install file basically puts the files in the necessary places in order to see them being used in your properties menu. I used the video as a demonstration of the power of this windows shell extension though . Very very useful

[Nemmyy]

Right on about the virus scan. I don't trust the pictures or copied text either that people include with their DL.
Your video is simple yet does a very good job of showing how the tool is used

[AceInfinity]

Right on about the virus scan. I don't trust the pictures or copied text either that people include with their DL.
Your video is simple yet does a very good job of showing how the tool is used

Thanks I believe there's more private versions out there that have even more hashes listed that it will verify for you. Right now those are 3 of the most common ones, but they are 100% trustworthy.

The private version with more hashes is out there somewhere, but I have yet to find it. When I do i'll be sure to add a mention to it in this thread later on if I do happen to find it. I'm pretty sure it's another public free release for people to use, but It'll take me some searching to find it.

I think it verifies hashes such as:

- GOST
- MD2
- MD4
- SHA256
- SHA384
- SHA512
- RIPEMD160
- TIGER160
- TIGER192