Algorithms For Dummies

 

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Secure Hash Algorithms (SHA): These algorithms include SHA1, SHA224, 

SHA256, SHA384, and SHA512. Released by the National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST) as a U.S. Federal Information Processing Standard 

(FIPS), SHA algorithms provide support for security applications and protocols.

 

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RSA’s MD5 algorithm: Initially designed for security applications, this hash 

turned into a popular way to checksum files. Checksums reduce files to a 

single number that enables you to determine whether the file was modified 

since hash creation (it lets you determine whether the file you downloaded 

wasn’t corrupted and hasn’t been altered by a hacker). To ensure file integrity, 

just check whether the MD5 checksum of your copy corresponds to the 

original one communicated by the author of the file.

If 

hashlib

 isn’t available on your Python installation, you can install the package 

using the 

pip install hashlib

 command from a command shell. The algorithms 

in 

hashlib

 work well for simple applications when used alone.