String Checksum Calculator
Generate and verify cryptographic hashes (MD5, SHA-256, CRC32) for text strings. Developer-centric tool for data integrity checks.
About
Data integrity verification remains a fundamental requirement in software development and network communication. When data traverses a network or moves between storage mediums, bit errors can occur. A checksum acts as a digital fingerprint, a fixed-size sequence derived from the input text using a one-way mathematical function. Even a single bit change in the input results in a drastically different output hash, a property known as the avalanche effect.
This tool addresses the need for rapid verification without the overhead of command-line utilities. It supports multiple algorithms simultaneously, allowing developers to cross-reference legacy hashes (MD5, SHA-1) against modern standards (SHA-256, SHA-512). The comparison feature eliminates manual visual checks, which are prone to human error, by programmatically validating the computed hash against an expected string.
Formulas
Hashing functions map arbitrary size data to fixed size values. For a cyclic redundancy check (CRC), the polynomial division is used over a finite field GF(2).
Where M(x) is the message polynomial and G(x) is the generator polynomial. Cryptographic hashes like SHA-256 use Merkle-Damgård construction or sponge functions involves compression functions C:
Reference Data
| Algorithm | Output Size (Bits) | Collision Resistance | Common Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| CRC32 | 32 | None | Ethernet, Gzip, PNG (Error detection only) |
| Adler-32 | 32 | None | Zlib compression (Faster than CRC32) |
| MD5 | 128 | Broken | Legacy file verification, non-crypto checksums |
| SHA-1 | 160 | Weak | Git version control, Legacy SSL |
| SHA-256 | 256 | High | Bitcoin, SSL/TLS, GPG signatures |
| SHA-512 | 512 | Very High | High-security auth, heavy compute proof |
| SHA-384 | 384 | High | NSA Suite B Cryptography |
| Keccak-256 | 256 | High | Ethereum (ETH) hashing |