XHash

Your computer recognizes files by more than just their corresponding extensions. There are different types of code behind the visual design, with HASH values being one type in particular. This can be used to verify integrity, or compare multiple files, and you can generate it with specialized applications like XHash.

One neat advantage is that you don’t even have to install the application to make it work. This gives you the possibility to use it directly from a USB flash drive on both your work, and home computers, without having to worry about the stability of the target PC, because registries are not modified in the process.

The visual design is pretty minimalistic, with a compact main window showing up on launch. You’re free to target any kind of file, since HASH can be generated for everything. Luckily, loading a file takes a couple of seconds, because it can be done by simply dropping it over the main window, but you can also use the browse dialog.

There are three types of HASH code the application can generate, such as MD5, SHA-1, and CRC32 checksums. A simple selection immediately generates the code, and you can even generate using all methods by simply selecting them one by one.

Results are all kept inside the log panel, letting you grab all the info you need. What’s more, the code remains even if you load a different file, so you can analyze more items in the same process. However, exporting results needs to be done manually, so you need to keep a text pad nearby to paste all code, which is neatly organized, and also contains the path and name of the target file.

In conclusion, XHash is a practical application with which to generate HASH values for any file using three different algorithms. Values are displayed until the log panel is cleared, letting you analyze more files in the process. There’s also a Base64 text encryption tool you can use for confidential messages.