Hashing, or a Hashing Algorithm takes "something" (a message, a file, a certificate, computer code, anything) and turns into a smaller, representational sample of the original something. The result of a hashing algorithm is known as a Digest (among other names).

To check if two files are perfectly identical, you can simply run them both through a hashing algorithm and compare the digests. If the digests are the same, then you know both files are also identical. In the rare cases that multiple files result in the same digest... you have what's known as a Collision. And while rare, collisions are unavoidable.

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00:00 - Hashing Algorithms - Definition & Simple Explanation
01:42 - Real World Hashing requirements
04:20 - Hashing Demonstration with Linux - md5sum
07:48 - Hash Collisions - Unfortunately, they can't be avoided
10:18 - Hashing Algorithms: md5 sha sha1 sha2 sha224 sha256 sha384 sha512

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