Files with an SFV extension are text files where the cyclic redundancy checksums of the parts that make up large compressed files are stored. Once you have received all the parts and the SFV file, if you want to check the integrity of the parts, you just have to run the program and see if the new codes match the ones in the SFV file.
The checksum changes with each and every character that is added or removed from a file, and the same applies to files and file names within folders or disks. This means that the checksum is unique for each piece of data, even if a character is disabled, the size is slightly different, and so on. All these changes are reflected in the SFV file, so the cyclic redundancy checking software can recognize it.
The operating systems have different applications to generate and check these codes.
For MAC you can check MacSFV software. For Windows you can download the MooSFV and for Linux the JackSum
SFV files are security related files and stand for “Simple File Verification”. They contain plaintext checksum data that can be used to verify folder, files or disks against corruption, missing files, corrupt files and wrong size problems. It is often used during copying and writing processes to check the integrity of the copy or written disk.
Open SFV File on Windows OS
- Look for an SFV file you need to open in Windows Explorer and double-click on it
- If the file doesn’t open automatically and you see a “Windows can’t open a file” message then you should search for a program which can open SFV file
- If you have a program which can open SFV file installed on your computer then launch that program and select “File” and then “Open” or similar options from its menu to open the SFV file
- If you don’t have the program installed then you need to try searching for “SFV wiki”, “how to open SFV file” in the search engine.
- Once you find the application, install it on your computer
- After the program is installed double-click on the SFV file to open it
File extensions are used by Windows operating system to specify what kind of information is stored in the file. Every file in Windows OS needs to have file extension and file extensions are used by Windows to determine which application it should use to open the file. Every application installed on Windows OS places information about which extensions it could open into the Windows registry and Windows uses this information to determine which application it should launch when user double-clicks on the file. If application which can open SFV file is not installed, then Windows will show ‘Windows can’t open SFV file’ message and buttons to either select an application on the computer which can open the file or to search the web for the application which can open SFV file.