We're using XML Digital Signatures for signing and verifying our license keys. The signing works fine and has been running smoothly. The XML license file contains a few (plaintext) details about the license, along with a binary signature.
We'd like to encode (I don't say encrypt) those plaintext details (license duration, user name, etc, etc.) so they're not immediately visible to prying eyes. Is there a standard (eg, base 64 or something else) that people use in this situation? It doesn't need to be secure or particularly clever, just enough to conceal the information in Notepad.
EDIT: We're using .NET/C#.
Thanks : )
Just use XOR. XOR is a good thing (when used right), used even in cryptographic algorithms such as RC4. By using XOR I mean taking some text string that will remain constant in your application, then XOR 1st byte of your file with 1st byte of that string, then xor 2nd byte of your file with 2nd byte of that string and so on. Then start from the beginning of the string. This is the way stream ciphers work. The string found in your code (in opposite to just some constant number) will make hacker's work a tiny bit more complicated.