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The Obscura Vault blog.
Articles on preserving originals and checking their integrity: checksums, fixity audits, .obf archives, offsite copies, certificates. Technical terms link to the glossary.
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Each article links to the glossary for technical terms.
Can you prove a photographic file has not been modified?
Fingerprint, fixity check, signature, date, preservation certificate: how to give verifiable proof of a digital photograph's integrity, and what that proof does not say.
Read the articleIn 20 years, will anyone still be able to open your photo archives?
Proprietary software, opaque formats, a vanished vendor, a lost key: what threatens long-term photo archiving, and why a truly lasting archive should not depend on the survival of the software that created it.
Read the articleYou have three copies of your photos. But do you know they are still intact?
Three copies on several drives is a good backup strategy. It is not yet preservation. Copy, backup, archiving, preservation: what sets them apart, and what preservation adds.
Read the articleA digital file doesn't wear out. So why check its integrity?
A JPEG, TIFF or RAW file is not damaged by being opened, but its bytes can still change without warning. What fixity means, what a SHA-256 checksum is for, and how to keep checking the integrity of your photographs over time.
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Preserved originals, verified integrity.
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