How to verify a file checksum

“A checksum is a small-sized block of data derived from another block of digital data for the purpose of detecting errors that may have been introduced during its transmission or storage.” - Wikipedia

The IVPN App’s download page and the change log hosted on GitHub include SHA256 checksums for each file. Verifying the checksum offers a way to confirm there are no errors with a downloaded file prior to installation.

Modern versions of Windows, macOS, and Linux include built-in applications to verify a checksum with no additional software required.

The calculation may take a few seconds and the output will be a 64-character string of numbers and letters. Compare the output with the checksum listed on the download page.

Windows

Open a Command Prompt (click the Start button > type cmd) and run the following commands by pressing Enter after each line:

cd Downloads
certutil -hashfile IVPN-Client-v3.X.Y.exe SHA256

Using Windows PowerShell is another option:

cd Downloads
Get-fileHash .\IVPN-Client-v3.X.Y.exe

Note: Generally, a web browser will automatically select the Downloads folder to save files, though the downloaded DMG installed file might be elsewhere on your system. Also, use the actual file name instead of the IVPN-Client-v3.X.Y.exe example.

macOS

Open a Terminal window (Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal) and run the following commands (press Enter/Return after each line to execute the command):

cd Downloads
shasum -a 256 IVPN-3.X.Y.dmg

Note: Generally, a web browser will automatically select the Downloads folder to save files, though the downloaded DMG installed file might be elsewhere on your system. Also, use the actual file name instead of the IVPN-3.X.Y.dmg example.

Linux

Open a Terminal or console window and run the following command, then press Enter:

sha256sum /path/to/ivpn_3.X.Y_amd64.deb

or:

sha256sum /path/to/ivpn-ui-3.X.Y-1.x86_64.rpm

Note: Please make a note of where you have saved the downloaded packages and use that path instead of /path/to/ in the command above. Also, use the actual filename instead of the 3.X.Y examples.

For Linux, the sha256sum application is provided by the coreutils package.

Related Articles

• Configuring the IVPN app to autoconnect
• Do you allow P2P / BitTorrent / torrents downloading?
• Does IVPN protect SSH connections?
• What are TCP connections?
• What is a Multi-hop VPN service?