I have several text files in a folder, and I'm trying to calculate a single MD5 hash value representing those text files in the folder.
Is there a free tool or windows/Linux command to get this done?
 I tried https://www.quickhash-gui.org/, but It will create only separate MD5 values for each file in the folder.
Also, I tried to create a zip file of the folder containing my set of files and created the hash value of the zip file. But I'm not sure that it is the right way.
Appreciate it if someone can tell me a way to do this.Â
Use 7-zip, it will calculate the SHA1 hash of a folder. Won't do MD5 though
Create a folder and move those text file onto the folder. Use nirsoft hash my file and create hash of the folder.
Also, I tried to create a zip file of the folder containing my set of files and created the hash value of the zip file. But I'm not sure that it is the right way.
There's nothing inherently wrong with that method. Many forensic software products use zip archives as the container for their forensic images. I used Axiom last week to download a Dropbox account. The result? A zip file. If I image an iPhone using an encrypted iTunes backup, I usually store the backup folders as a 7z and hash it as the "image." 7z or zip files can be ingested directly by Oxygen, for example.
If the zip software you're using is working properly, unzipped files should hash the same as the pre-zipped versions. You can test it yourself and see, and you can use HashMyFiles as a comparison.