How Can I Easily Obfuscate Data in .NET 2.0 Without Using Strong Encryption?

Basic Data Hiding in .NET 2.0 (Insecure)

This article explores simple data obfuscation techniques for .NET 2.0, suitable for non-sensitive data where strong encryption isn't necessary. The goal is to deter casual inspection, offering more protection than simple methods like ROT13 or Base64 encoding. We'll focus on solutions readily available within the .NET 2.0 framework, avoiding external libraries.

A More Secure Approach: AES Encryption

While simpler methods exist, AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) provides a significantly more robust and current solution. The following section details an AES encryption class, optimized for web applications by using URL-safe string handling and byte array support.

This class simplifies encryption and decryption: use EncryptToString(string StringToEncrypt) for encryption and DecryptString(string StringToDecrypt) for decryption.

Implementation Details

The code includes these methods:

• EncryptToString(string TextValue): Encrypts text and returns a URL-safe string.
• Encrypt(string TextValue): Encrypts text and returns an encrypted byte array.
• DecryptString(string EncryptedString): Decrypts a string using StrToByteArray.
• Decrypt(byte[] EncryptedValue): Decrypts a byte array.
• StrToByteArray(string str): Converts a string to a byte array for URL transmission.
• ByteArrToString(byte[] byteArr): Converts a byte array back to a string.

Improving Security: Key and Initialization Vector Generation

Crucially, do not use the hardcoded key and vector values in the example. Generate your own unique keys and vectors using the GenerateEncryptionKey() and GenerateEncryptionVector() methods (not shown but assumed to be provided). This is essential for security.

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