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I'm in need to encrypt a bunch of data. I started down AES, 256bit. I found the following article http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc164055.aspx and referenced his code but then started wondering if there is a System.Security.Cryptography class, then why does this example appear to reinvent the wheel and not use it? Unless this is how AES is processed, however the Cryptography class is never referenced.

Looking throughout the web, i've come across other articles discussing Rijndael (http://www.obviex.com/Samples/Encryption.aspx). Is this AES?

I also found an article on this site, Using AES encryption in C#, where the questioner is asking basically the same thing. The answers use Rijndael, not the AES class that I can see.

So, I guess my questions are: What is the most secure way to protect my data? Is it AES, and if so, what is the best method of using it?

Thanks a ton!

Community
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David Lozzi
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  • AES was determined by a contest to develop a new, standard encryption algorithm. Rijndael won. So yes, Rijndael is AES. This is also how the [SHA-3 hashing algorithm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SHA-3) is being decided. – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft Feb 01 '11 at 22:45

2 Answers2

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Rijndael is the algorithm that was later adopted as AES (with minor modifications). So you can follow one the samples available for AES.

The rest of your question ("best method of using it") is too broad to answer. There's plenty of introductory cryptographic information around. Start with Wikipedia articles on AES and encryption modes.

Eugene Mayevski 'Callback
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I believe the article you reference is more along the lines of "how does it work?" than "how do you do it?"

Use the managed class if you're only trying to get work done.

Broam
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