You may be wondering at this point what Awesum is and why you should be interested in it. Well, let me explain.
Awesum is an easy to use graphical checksum verification program. That definition may not clarify things very much for you. Let's break it down to basics:
Graphical - Graphical programs are the pretty-pointy-clicky programs that most people are used to. This is opposed to text-based programs that are executed from the command line and only input and output text. Graphical programs tend to be relatively easy to use, especially for beginners.
Checksum - Checksums are strings of characters that are mathematically generated from files. They are useful for verifying the authenticity and integrity of downloaded files because it is extremely difficult to find two files that will generate the same checksum value. There are two major forms of checksums used on the Internet: MD5 and SHA1. Awesum fully supports both types.
Verification - Verification, at least as it pertains to checksums, is the process of ensuring that a file of uncertain origin contains the expected content. It makes sure that what you want is what you get.
So, to put it all together, Awesum is a fairly easy to use program that is useful for checking the validity of files obtained from the Internet and other insecure sources.