A cryptographic hash value is a unique digital fingerprint generated from a file. Software vendors often publish the hash values (e.g., MD5, SHA-256) for their legitimate software downloads. By calculating the hash of the downloaded file and comparing it to the official hash provided by the vendor, the technician can definitively verify the file's integrity and authenticity. A matching hash proves the file is the original and has not been tampered with.

B. Run Task Manager and compare the process ID: A Process ID (PID) is a temporary identifier assigned by the operating system each time a program runs; it does not verify the authenticity of the underlying file.

C. Run the application in safe mode: Safe mode is an operating system diagnostic state. It does not provide a mechanism to verify the integrity or legitimacy of an individual application file.

D. Verify the file name is correct: The question states the name is already correct. File names are easily spoofed and are not a reliable indicator of a file's authenticity or safety.

1. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-101 Rev. 1

Guidelines on Mobile Device Forensics. Section 3.3

"Hashing

" describes the use of cryptographic hash functions like SHA-1 and MD5 to generate a unique value for a file

which is used to "ensure the integrity of the data." This principle of integrity verification is directly applicable to verifying a legitimate software download.

2. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Computer Security Resource Center

Cryptographic Hash Function. The glossary defines a hash function as an algorithm that "can be used to verify the integrity of data." This supports the use of hashing as the correct method for the scenario.

3. MIT OpenCourseWare

6.858 Computer Systems Security

Fall 2014. Lecture 2

"OS Security

" discusses system integrity. The principles covered explain that cryptographic checksums (hashes) are a fundamental mechanism for verifying that software or system files have not been modified by an attacker.