How to password protect a file in C#

[Salim Zaabi]

I have been trying to make a program in c# to password protect a file so nobody can open the file if it has been encrypted by password.

What I want to do is that after password protecting the file, whenever somebody click to open the file, it will ask him for the password. What is the best way to encrypt it, Is it by XOR or AES?

[tlhintoq]

Just .zip it and assign a password when you .zip it

.rar also supports passwords.

Both have command line options so you can even call it from within your application

[Monomachus]

Hi Everyone,

I have been trying to make a program in c# to password a file, so nobody can open the file if it has been encrypted by password.
What I want to do is that after passwording the file, whenever somebody click to open the file, it will ask him for the password. And what is the best way to encrypt it, Is it by XOR or AES??

Take a look at System.Security .Cryptography to learn about cryptography and how to use it with C# and .NET in general.

[Salim Zaabi]

Thanks to tlhintoq and Monomachus for replying..

[jkmyoung]

When you say 'best way', what are you looking for?
1. Not easily cracked.
2. Easy to implement.
3. Quick algorithm.

Also, what type of file are you trying to encrypt? Can we assume it is binary code?

There are plenty of encryption algorithms out there. Check out:
System.Security .Cryptography
Triple Des is rather popular:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...eprovider.aspx

Moderators: Please merge thread with http://bytes.com/topic/c-sharp/answe...-password-file

[Salim Zaabi]

thanks jkmyoung,

What I'm looking for is encryption that is not easy to be cracked, and for any type of files...