What does it do?

Archiverify takes two directories, recursively copies files between them, generates hashes for the files, and warns you if any existing files or hashes don’t match.

Why?

To make back-ups of unchanging data simple and reliable.

If you have a large number of files that don’t change - for example your digital photos - then Archiverify allows you to easily compare your master copy with your back-ups and copy over any new files. It will also warn you if either copy of a file gets corrupted.

But I back up to an online service

Then feel free to move right along. As long as your online service guarantees your back-ups won’t get corrupted then Archiverify isn’t for you. Amazon S3 has pretty good guarantees on data consistency for example.

But I back up to CDs/DVDs

Archiverify might still be useful. CDs/DVDs can and do go bad. Archiverify’s single directory mode can help you notice when a disc goes bad.