Bit9 is a free service that helps you identify unfamiliar/unknown software applications and executables on your computer by quickly searching an index of known commercial applications and malware. You just need to enter the MD-5 hash, SHA-1 hash, or file name, and FileAdvisor returns information about the origin and trustworthiness of the file. The MD-5 or SHA-1 Hash can be calculated using a free utility called VisualHash or using the FileAdvisor utility itself.

Main features of this utility include:

+ Identify Files by Name and find the Original name and size of the file
+ Identify Hashes
+ Browse by Category: Category, Publisher or Source
+ List Files by Discovery Source and Publisher
+ Publisher that created the file
+ Products in which the file appears
+ Sources of distribution

The FileAdvisor client utility is a Windows Explorer shell extension that allows you to right-click on any file on your computer and, with a single request, hash the file and submit it for analysis. You can select and submit up to four files at a time. To positively identify a file, you will need to search using the file’s unique hash signature since different executables or dlls can have the same name.

Download Bit9 Shell extension for Windows here