XOR Cipher Tool

Simple command-line tool for encoding and decoding messages using XOR cipher with Base64 encoding.

Features

• Encodes/decodes any text with XOR cipher
• Supports all characters (Unicode, emojis, special chars)
• Base64 output for safe storage and transmission
• Key can be stored in file or entered manually
• Binary-safe file I/O

Setup

Visual Studio 2022

1. Create new Empty Project
2. Create src/ filter
3. Add all 4 .cpp files from src/ folder
4. Build and run

Usage

Encoding

1. Put your message in input.txt
2. (Optional) Put your key in key.txt, or leave empty to type it
3. Run program, select [1] Encode
4. Encoded message appears in output.txt

Decoding

1. Put Base64 encoded text in input.txt
2. Use the same key from encoding
3. Run program, select [2] Decode
4. Original message appears in output.txt

How It Works

1. XOR Cipher - Message is XORed with the key (byte by byte, key repeats if shorter)
2. Base64 Encoding - Result is converted to Base64 for safe text representation
3. Binary I/O - Files are read/written in binary mode to preserve all characters

Security Note

XOR cipher is NOT secure for real-world encryption. This is a learning project. For actual security, use established libraries like OpenSSL.