System and method for backing up data

A system for backing up a data block comprising:

• a backup server having access to a digital fingerprint database;
• and
• a source computer connected to the backup server via a communication path,
• wherein the source computer generates a digital fingerprint of the data block using a substantially collision-free algorithm, and the backup server backs up the data block if the digital fingerprint does not match any digital fingerprint stored in the database.

A method for auditing license restrictions of a computer program in an enterprise computing environment, comprising:

• generating a digital fingerprint of at least one file in the computer program using a substantially collision-free algorithm;
• generating a digital fingerprint for each file on each computer in the enterprise using the substantially collision-free algorithm;
• comparing the digital fingerprints from the enterprise files with the digital fingerprint of the computer program file;
• and
• comparing the number of fingerprint matches to the number of licenses allowed for the computer program.

A method for inventorying a computer program in an enterprise computing environment, comprising:

• generating a digital fingerprint of at least one file in the computer program using a substantially collision-free algorithm;
• generating a digital fingerprint for each file on each computer in the enterprise using the substantially collision-free algorithm;
• comparing the digital fingerprints from the enterprise files with the digital fingerprint of the computer program file;
• and
• counting the number of fingerprint matches.

A method for detecting file tampering on a computer, comprising:

• generating a digital fingerprint for each file on the computer using a substantially collision-free algorithm;
• and
• comparing the digital fingerprints of the computer files with digital fingerprints of the computer files generated when the files were previously saved,
• wherein tampering exists on a file if the digital fingerprint of that file differs from the digital fingerprint generated when that file was previously saved.

A method for detecting a computer virus on a computer, comprising:

• generating a digital fingerprint of the computer virus using a substantially collision-free algorithm;
• generating a digital fingerprint for each file on the computer using the substantially collision-free algorithm;
• and
• comparing the digital fingerprints of the computer files with the digital fingerprint of the computer virus,
• wherein the computer virus exists on the computer if any digital fingerprint of the computer files matches the digital fingerprint of the computer virus.