A.9.16 The sha1sums / sha256sums / etc files on your download page don't match the binaries.

People report this every so often, and usually the reason turns out to be that they've matched up the wrong checksums file with the wrong binaries.

The PuTTY download page contains more than one version of the software. There's a latest release version; there are the development snapshots; and when we're in the run-up to making a release, there are also pre-release builds of the upcoming new version. Each one has its own collection of binaries, and its own collection of checksums files to go with them.

So if you've downloaded the release version of the actual program, you need the release version of the checksums too, otherwise you will see a mismatch. Similarly, the development snapshot binaries go with the development snapshot checksums, and so on. (We've colour-coded the download page in an effort to reduce this confusion a bit.)

If you have double-checked that, and you still think there's a real mismatch, then please send us a report carefully quoting everything relevant:

• the exact URL you got your binary from
• the checksum of the binary after you downloaded
• the exact URL you got your checksums file from
• the checksum that file says the binary should have.