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Decrypt String

Decrypt is used to get back the original string after it have been encrypted using the Encrypt function - the Decrypt function MUST be given the same passphrase as was given to the Encrypt function - the passphrase is like a password we use to encrypt and decrypt string content.

Usage

• Example
  • I use the Decrypt function in my FlexCaptcha WebControl on postback to decrypt the captcha letters stored in ViewState so I can compare the letters with the letters the user wrote in the captcha textbox.
• Example Code

  • string myBankCode = "1234";
    string myEncryptedBankCode = Utils.String.Encrypt(myBankCode, "SomePassphrase");
    string myDecryptedBankCode = Utils.String.Decrypt(myEncryptedBankCode, "SomePassphrase"); //Passphrase MUST be identical to the passphrase used then encrypting
    

    myBankCode and myDecryptedBankCode is now identical.

The Decrypt function :

public static string Decrypt(string Message, string Passphrase)
{
	byte[] Results;
	System.Text.UTF8Encoding UTF8 = new System.Text.UTF8Encoding();
 
	// Step 1. We hash the passphrase using MD5
	// We use the MD5 hash generator as the result is a 128 bit byte array
	// which is a valid length for the TripleDES encoder we use below
 
	MD5CryptoServiceProvider HashProvider = new MD5CryptoServiceProvider();
	byte[] TDESKey = HashProvider.ComputeHash(UTF8.GetBytes(Passphrase));
 
	// Step 2. Create a new TripleDESCryptoServiceProvider object
	TripleDESCryptoServiceProvider TDESAlgorithm = new TripleDESCryptoServiceProvider();
 
	// Step 3. Setup the decoder
	TDESAlgorithm.Key = TDESKey;
	TDESAlgorithm.Mode = CipherMode.ECB;
	TDESAlgorithm.Padding = PaddingMode.PKCS7;
 
	// Step 4. Convert the input string to a byte[]
	byte[] DataToDecrypt;
	try
	{
		DataToDecrypt = Convert.FromBase64String(Message);
	}
	catch
	{
		return "ERROR";
	}
 
	// Step 5. Attempt to decrypt the string
	try
	{
		ICryptoTransform Decryptor = TDESAlgorithm.CreateDecryptor();
		Results = Decryptor.TransformFinalBlock(DataToDecrypt, 0, DataToDecrypt.Length);
	}
	finally
	{
		// Clear the TripleDes and Hashprovider services of any sensitive information
		TDESAlgorithm.Clear();
		HashProvider.Clear();
	}
 
	// Step 6. Return the decrypted string in UTF8 format
	return UTF8.GetString(Results);
}

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