firmware signing vs firmware hashing
<p>Hi can someone help me understand and figure out the difference when they say in android phones </p>

<p>signed firmware
vs
emulating signed firmware using hashing</p>

<p>its seems like there are two different methods of achieving the same thing. but seems like depending on what method is used one is more secure than another. </p>

<p>like for hashing it seems like they take certain memory area and call it secure by calculating  a hash for that area. i am not sure if they store this hash somewhere else and then just check to see if that hash is the same value or not. in addition they use certain number of variables to calculate the hash which they use as an input into whatever hashing algorithm is being used.</p>

<p>vs </p>

<p>in the digital signing they are using like PKI  like RSA keys which are used to sign the firmware from the get go. </p>

<p>so there is the let me check to see if the firmware is signed so that no one can modify it. 
and then there is the let me now check the actual firmware (via hashing etc). </p>

<p>however sometimes the terms are used inter changeably and I get confused. any links or ideas on how to understand this? the examples i have seen seem to be all email related.</p>
