Editing File verification (section)

== Integrity verification ==
[[Computer file|File]] integrity can be compromised, usually referred to as the file becoming [[Data corruption|corrupted]].  A file can become corrupted by a variety of ways: faulty [[storage media]], errors in transmission, write errors during copying or moving, [[software bug]]s, and so on.

[[hash function|Hash]]-based verification ensures that a file has not been corrupted by comparing the file's hash value to a previously calculated value. If these values match, the file is presumed to be unmodified.  Due to the nature of hash functions, [[hash collision]]s may result in [[false positive]]s, but the likelihood of collisions is often negligible with random corruption.