How does verifying the checksum confirm the integrity of a downloaded file, when it’s posted on the same website the file came from?
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Imagine a box that’s able to take a computer program and turn it into a math problem. You put the program in one end of the box, and a big complicated answer comes out the other end.
The important parts are that if you put the *same program* into the box multiple times, you will always get the *same checksum*, and if you make even a single change to the program you’ll get a *different* checksum.
So: whoever made the program is telling you what the checksum *should be*. If you download the program and then use a checksum calculator, the checksum that you get should be exactly the same as the checksum that the creator got – this tells you that the program is exactly the same too. If you get a *different* checksum, then someone else has altered the program and it’s also *different* than what the creator originally made.
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