In order for our users to verify the integrity and authenticity of downloaded binary files, the SHA3-512 hashes for both the 32-bit and 64-bit XLL files has been added to the Installation and Download Verification page.
What is file verification? Directly from the Wikipedia description (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_verification):
File verification is the process of using an algorithm for verifying the integrity of a computer file. This can be done by comparing two files bit-by-bit, but requires two copies of the same file, and may miss systematic corruptions which might occur to both files. A more popular approach is to also store checksums (hashes) of files, also known as message digests, for later comparison.
File integrity can be compromised, usually referred to as the file becoming corrupted. A file can become corrupted by a variety of ways: faulty storage media, errors in transmission, write errors during copying or moving, software bugs, and so on. 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 collisions may result in false positives, but the likelihood of collisions is often negligible with random corruption.
File authenticity is often desirable to verify that a file hasn't been modified in transmission or storage by untrusted parties, for example, to include malicious code such as viruses or backdoors. For this purpose, cryptographic hash functions are employed often.
