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In Plain Sight

Utility

Windows

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Note: This project is no longer available on the Microsoft Store.

Screenshot 1: A quick overview of how to run the application.
Screenshot 1: How the program typically looks.

In Plain Sight encrypts and decrypts text and emojis and that's pretty much it. With that said, it does allow you to do certain things. The most notable one is it enables you to visualise what you're encrypting/decrypting. Unlike programs which include it as a feature, amongst many, and don't go into detail about it. Although, that's still better than those which don't offer any encryption at all. Which is another thing In Plain Sight enables you to do. You can now post encrypted messages in public places. And, if the people reading it know the passphrase, they can decrypt it -- allowing you to hide messages in plain sight.

In Plain Sight is compatible with In Plain Sight Mobile [1]. A message encrypted in one can be decrypted in the other -- and vice-versa.

Screenshot 2: You can use the desktop and mobile versions interchangeably.
Screenshot 2: You can use the desktop and mobile versions interchangeably.

For those interested in the technical side of things, here are a couple of bullet points:

  • The encryption implementation uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (A.E.S.)[2].
  • I did this using the Bouncy Castle Crypto Library[3].

To use it, you will need to follow these three steps:

Screenshot 3: Quick guide.
Screenshot 3: A quick guide on how to use In Plain Sight.

  1. Enter a passphrase (1); It must be no shorter than twelve characters.
  2. Enter what you want encrypting/decrypting into the text box (2).
  3. Press either the Encrypt or Decrypt button (3).

Bonus Step...

  1. Press the Copy button (4) to message so you can paste it into what you want (social media, e-mail, Notepad Etc.).

As an aside, when you are decrypting a message, the passphrase must match the one used to encrypt it. This is what allows you to post messages in public.

Microsoft Store link

Footnotes

  1. You can get In Plain Sight Mobile by clicking here.
  2. Wikipedia article on A.E.S.
  3. Bouncy Castle's Website (C# A.P.I.)