The reason why an 'eyeball comparison' is most often enough is that for an attacker it is really, really hard to create a file with a SHA-256 hash that is 'almost the same' as for the original file. This can lead to situations where we simply forego the check, because we're in a hurry or feel it is low risk. The alternative to doing it by heart is to spend time finding and cutting-pasting the script/command line every time you need to check. If you're trying to do an automatised comparison 'by heart', there's a risk that you accidentally enter the wrong command line or somehow subtly alter the meaning of the command. if you check that first few characters and the last few characters are the same, and it 'looks the same' - then this is a really good verification. I just wanted to add a different angle on how to compare the hash values.Īctually it is in almost any case enough to to an 'eyeball comparison'.

You have already received answers on how to do an automatised comparison of the two hash values to ensure they are completely alike.

Verify sha checksum mac