IntegrityWatch

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Overview

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The File Integrity Monitor is a Python-based utility that helps monitor the integrity of files by calculating their hash values and sending alerts when changes are detected. This project provides a simple and efficient way to ensure the integrity of critical files and detect any unauthorized modifications.

Getting Started

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Prerequisites

• Python 3.7 or later
• Email account with SMTP access (e.g., Gmail, Outlook)

Dependencies

• watchdog library: Installation covered in the next step

Installation

1. Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/akshayjain-1/File-Integrity-Monitoring.git
2. Navigate to the project directory: cd file-integrity-monitor
3. Install the required libraries: pip install -r requirements.txt

Configuration

1. Set the EMAIL and EMAIL_PWD environment variables with your email account credentials. For example, on Linux or macOS, you can use the following commands: export EMAIL="[email protected]" export EMAIL_PWD="your_password" On Windows, you can set environment variables through the System Properties or using the set command.

2. Update the [email protected] and [email protected] placeholders in the send_alert function with your actual email addresses.

Usage

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Calculating File Hash

1. Import the calculate_hash function: from monitor import calculate_hash
2. Call the calculate_hash function with the file path as an argument: hash_value = calculate_hash('path/to/file.txt')
3. The function returns the SHA-256 hash value of the file as a string.

Sending Alerts

1. Import the send_alert function: from monitor import send_alert
2. Call the send_alert function with the alert message as an argument: send_alert('File integrity alert: file.txt has been modified!')
3. The function sends an email with the alert message to the configured recipient.

Functions

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calculate_hash(file_path: str) -> Optional[str]

Calculates the SHA-256 hash value of a file.

• file_path: The path of the file to calculate the hash of.
• Returns: The hash value of the file as a string, or None if the file does not exist or cannot be read.

send_alert(message: str) -> None

Sends an alert with the given message.

• message: The email body to send.
• Sends an email with the alert message to the configured recipient.

Troubleshooting

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Common Issues

• FileNotFoundError: The file specified in the calculate_hash function does not exist.
• OSError: An error occurred while reading the file.
• smtplib.SMTPException: An error occurred while sending the email.

Solutions

• Check the file path and ensure it exists.
• Verify the file permissions and ensure the script has read access.
• Check the email account credentials and SMTP server settings.

Contributing

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Contributions are welcome! If you'd like to contribute to the project, please fork the repository, make your changes, and submit a pull request.