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Yes it is necessary to check the entire string. Chances are very high that the entire string will change for just one bit but it's not guaranteed - maybe only the last character will change. Also if I recall correctly it's not even guaranteed that two files with the same md5sum are actually the same - I know, mind blowing but it's one of those kind of things that are as likely to happen as a solar flare destroying all life on Earth. You can be pretty sure it won't occur but it could. It's just something that is bound to happen if you reduce files that could have gigabytes of data into 32 characters (roughly 32 bytes). For most uses you'll be fine but don't use md5 as a map index or anything of the kind.
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[–] omegletrollz 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Yes it is necessary to check the entire string. Chances are very high that the entire string will change for just one bit but it's not guaranteed - maybe only the last character will change. Also if I recall correctly it's not even guaranteed that two files with the same md5sum are actually the same - I know, mind blowing but it's one of those kind of things that are as likely to happen as a solar flare destroying all life on Earth. You can be pretty sure it won't occur but it could. It's just something that is bound to happen if you reduce files that could have gigabytes of data into 32 characters (roughly 32 bytes). For most uses you'll be fine but don't use md5 as a map index or anything of the kind.