Checksum
A short fingerprint of a file used to confirm it has not been altered.
A checksum is a fixed-length value calculated from the contents of a file, often using an algorithm such as SHA-256. Even a one-byte change to the file produces a completely different checksum, which makes it an excellent tampering detector. When the Malairte project publishes the official checksum of a wallet or node release, a user can generate the checksum of their own download and compare the two. A match confirms the file is intact and identical to the genuine release; a mismatch means the file was corrupted in transit or maliciously altered and should be discarded. Verifying a checksum takes under a minute and is a core defence against tampered or swapped downloads.