md5sum is a computer program that calculates and verifies 128-bit MD5 hashes, as described in RFC 1321.
md5sum is a computer program that calculates and verifies 128-bit MD5 hashes, as described in RFC 1321. The MD5 hash (or checksum) functions as a compact digital fingerprint of a file. As with all such hashing algorithms, there is theoretically an unlimited number of files that will have any given MD5 hash. However, it is very unlikely that any two non-identical files in the real world will have the same MD5 hash, unless they have been specifically created to have the same hash. The underlying MD5 algorithm is no longer deemed secure, thus while md5sum is well-suited for e.g. identifying known files in situations that are not security related, it should not be relied on if there is a chance that files have been purposefully and maliciously tampered. In the latter case, use of a newer hashing tool such as sha256sum is highly recommended.
Virtually any non-malicious change to a file will cause its MD5 hash to change; therefore md5sum is used to verify the integrity of files. Most commonly, md5sum is used to verify that a file has not changed as a result of a faulty file transfer, a disk error or non-malicious meddling. The md5sum program is installed by default in most Unix, Linux, and Unix-like operating systems or compatibility layers. Other operating systems, including Microsoft Windows and BSD variants — such as Mac OS X - have similar utilities.
