# Hashing ## What is Hashing? * A common method used to uniquely identify malware * The malicious software is run through a hashing program that produces a unique hash that identifies that malware (a sort of fingerprint) ### Hashes * MD5 or SHA-1 * Condenses a file of any size down to a fixed-length fingerprint * Uniquely identifies a file well in practice * There are MD5 collisions but they are not common * Collision: two different files with the same hash ### Hash Uses * Label a malware file * Share the hash with other analysts to identify malware * Search the hash online to see if someone else has already identified the file Tool: HashCalc --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://wiki.zacheller.dev/exploit-dev-analysis/static-analysis/hashing.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.