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Delphi - Encryption, ciphers and hashes (1)
In this article we are going to cover how to install DCPcrypt Cryptographic Component Library (open source), how to call methods for encrypting and decrypting strings, and finally we will take a look at the advanced topic of encrypting files. Our examples relate to applications written in Delphi (5) or similar. For our examples we assume you already have a basic understanding of Delphi but only a limited understanding of encryption components and techniques.
Encryption is becoming ever more popular in today's applications. Developers must have a good understanding of the methods used to secure their applications including any sensitive data. As most developers will tell you, Delphi straight out of the box provides the developer with very little encryption components or classes. Instead developers tend to opt for 3rd party components which are tailored to the exact needs. In this article we are going to use an excellent Open Source library called 'DCPcrypt Cryptographic Component Library'.
The library contains various Ciphers and Hashes, which are further sub divided into the more common names of BlowFish, cat128, DES, SHA and many more. In this article we are going to look closely at TDCP_cast256 (cast256 cipher) which has a block size of 128 bits and a max key size of 256 bits, and also DCP_sha1 (sha1 hash) which has a digest size of 160 bits. Don't worry too much about these technical details at this stage. These two classes provide the ideal encryption architecture to use with any Delphi application. One other point before we continue, the encryption library can also be used in both C++ Builder and Kylix.
Right, lets take a look at how to install the library and get started with some simple encryption. The library comes with several packages which are 'ready to go'. Its easy to install the package, you just need to double click the package which meets your version of Delphi, in our example: DCPdelphi5.dpk. Double clicking the package opens Delphi and the standard install package screen appears. Compile the package if you so wish but clicking install directly will do the trick. The next time you open Delphi you will notice two new tabs; DCPciphers and DCPhashes. The TDCP_cast256 class is found under the DCPciphers tab and DCP_sha1 under the DCPhashes tab.
This library is covered by the Open Source license. See the readme.txt file for details
Download encryption library (Open Source)
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