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.NET Framework 3.5
CryptoStream Class
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This page is specific to
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5

Other versions are also available for the following:
.NET Framework Class Library
CryptoStream Class

Defines a stream that links data streams to cryptographic transformations.

Namespace:  System.Security.Cryptography
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Visual Basic (Declaration)
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
Public Class CryptoStream _
    Inherits Stream _
    Implements IDisposable
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As CryptoStream
C#
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public class CryptoStream : Stream, 
    IDisposable
Visual C++
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public ref class CryptoStream : public Stream, 
    IDisposable
JScript
public class CryptoStream extends Stream implements IDisposable

The common language runtime uses a stream-oriented design for cryptography. The core of this design is CryptoStream. Any cryptographic objects that implement CryptoStream can be chained together with any objects that implement Stream, so the streamed output from one object can be fed into the input of another object. The intermediate result (the output from the first object) does not need to be stored separately.

You should always explicitly close your CryptoStream object after you are done using it by calling the Close method. Doing so flushes the stream and causes all remain blocks of data to be processed by the CryptoStream object. However, if an exception occurs before you call the Close method, the CryptoStream object might not be closed. To ensure that the Close method always gets called, place your call to the Close method within the finally block of a try/catch statement.

The following example demonstrates how to use a CryptoStream to encrypt a string. This method uses RijndaelManaged class with the specified Key and initialization vector (IV).

Visual Basic
Imports System.Security.Cryptography
Imports System.Text
Imports System.IO

Module RijndaelSample

    Sub Main()
        Try
            ' Create a new Rijndael object to generate a key
            ' and initialization vector (IV).
            Dim RijndaelAlg As Rijndael = Rijndael.Create

            ' Create a string to encrypt.
            Dim sData As String = "Here is some data to encrypt."
            Dim FileName As String = "CText.txt"

            ' Encrypt text to a file using the file name, key, and IV.
            EncryptTextToFile(sData, FileName, RijndaelAlg.Key, RijndaelAlg.IV)

            ' Decrypt the text from a file using the file name, key, and IV.
            Dim Final As String = DecryptTextFromFile(FileName, RijndaelAlg.Key, RijndaelAlg.IV)

            ' Display the decrypted string to the console.
            Console.WriteLine(Final)
        Catch e As Exception
            Console.WriteLine(e.Message)
        End Try

        Console.ReadLine()

    End Sub


    Sub EncryptTextToFile(ByVal Data As String, ByVal FileName As String, ByVal Key() As Byte, ByVal IV() As Byte)
        Try
            ' Create or open the specified file.
            Dim fStream As FileStream = File.Open(FileName, FileMode.OpenOrCreate)

            ' Create a new Rijndael object.
            Dim RijndaelAlg As Rijndael = Rijndael.Create

            ' Create a CryptoStream using the FileStream 
            ' and the passed key and initialization vector (IV).
            Dim cStream As New CryptoStream(fStream, _
                                           RijndaelAlg.CreateEncryptor(Key, IV), _
                                           CryptoStreamMode.Write)

            ' Create a StreamWriter using the CryptoStream.
            Dim sWriter As New StreamWriter(cStream)

            Try

                ' Write the data to the stream 
                ' to encrypt it.
                sWriter.WriteLine(Data)
            Catch e As Exception

                Console.WriteLine("An error occurred: {0}", e.Message)

            Finally

                ' Close the streams and
                ' close the file.
                sWriter.Close()
                cStream.Close()
                fStream.Close()

            End Try
        Catch e As CryptographicException
            Console.WriteLine("A Cryptographic error occurred: {0}", e.Message)
        Catch e As UnauthorizedAccessException
            Console.WriteLine("A file error occurred: {0}", e.Message)
        End Try
    End Sub


    Function DecryptTextFromFile(ByVal FileName As String, ByVal Key() As Byte, ByVal IV() As Byte) As String
        Try
            ' Create or open the specified file. 
            Dim fStream As FileStream = File.Open(FileName, FileMode.OpenOrCreate)

            ' Create a new Rijndael object.
            Dim RijndaelAlg As Rijndael = Rijndael.Create

            ' Create a CryptoStream using the FileStream 
            ' and the passed key and initialization vector (IV).
            Dim cStream As New CryptoStream(fStream, _
                                            RijndaelAlg.CreateDecryptor(Key, IV), _
                                            CryptoStreamMode.Read)

            ' Create a StreamReader using the CryptoStream.
            Dim sReader As New StreamReader(cStream)

            ' Read the data from the stream 
            ' to decrypt it.
            Dim val As String = Nothing

            Try

                val = sReader.ReadLine()

            Catch e As Exception
                Console.WriteLine("An Cerror occurred: {0}", e.Message)
            Finally
                ' Close the streams and
                ' close the file.
                sReader.Close()
                cStream.Close()
                fStream.Close()


            End Try

            ' Return the string. 
            Return val

        Catch e As CryptographicException
            Console.WriteLine("A Cryptographic error occurred: {0}", e.Message)
            Return Nothing
        Catch e As UnauthorizedAccessException
            Console.WriteLine("A file error occurred: {0}", e.Message)
            Return Nothing
        End Try
    End Function
End Module
C#
using System;
using System.Security.Cryptography;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;

class RijndaelSample
{

    static void Main()
    {
        try
        {
            // Create a new Rijndael object to generate a key
            // and initialization vector (IV).
            Rijndael RijndaelAlg = Rijndael.Create();

            // Create a string to encrypt.
            string sData = "Here is some data to encrypt.";
            string FileName = "CText.txt";

            // Encrypt text to a file using the file name, key, and IV.
            EncryptTextToFile(sData, FileName, RijndaelAlg.Key, RijndaelAlg.IV);

            // Decrypt the text from a file using the file name, key, and IV.
            string Final = DecryptTextFromFile(FileName, RijndaelAlg.Key, RijndaelAlg.IV);

            // Display the decrypted string to the console.
            Console.WriteLine(Final);
        }
        catch (Exception e)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
        }

        Console.ReadLine();
    }

    public static void EncryptTextToFile(String Data, String FileName, byte[] Key, byte[] IV)
    {
        try
        {
            // Create or open the specified file.
            FileStream fStream = File.Open(FileName, FileMode.OpenOrCreate);

            // Create a new Rijndael object.
            Rijndael RijndaelAlg = Rijndael.Create();

            // Create a CryptoStream using the FileStream 
            // and the passed key and initialization vector (IV).
            CryptoStream cStream = new CryptoStream(fStream,
                RijndaelAlg.CreateEncryptor(Key, IV),
                CryptoStreamMode.Write);

            // Create a StreamWriter using the CryptoStream.
            StreamWriter sWriter = new StreamWriter(cStream);

            try
            {
                // Write the data to the stream 
                // to encrypt it.
                sWriter.WriteLine(Data);
            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("An error occurred: {0}", e.Message);
            }
            finally
            {
                // Close the streams and
                // close the file.
                sWriter.Close();
                cStream.Close();
                fStream.Close();
            }
        }
        catch (CryptographicException e)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("A Cryptographic error occurred: {0}", e.Message);
        }
        catch (UnauthorizedAccessException e)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("A file error occurred: {0}", e.Message);
        }

    }

    public static string DecryptTextFromFile(String FileName, byte[] Key, byte[] IV)
    {
        try
        {
            // Create or open the specified file. 
            FileStream fStream = File.Open(FileName, FileMode.OpenOrCreate);

            // Create a new Rijndael object.
            Rijndael RijndaelAlg = Rijndael.Create();

            // Create a CryptoStream using the FileStream 
            // and the passed key and initialization vector (IV).
            CryptoStream cStream = new CryptoStream(fStream,
                RijndaelAlg.CreateDecryptor(Key, IV),
                CryptoStreamMode.Read);

            // Create a StreamReader using the CryptoStream.
            StreamReader sReader = new StreamReader(cStream);

            string val = null;

            try
            {
                // Read the data from the stream 
                // to decrypt it.
                val = sReader.ReadLine();


            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("An error occurred: {0}", e.Message);
            }
            finally
            {

                // Close the streams and
                // close the file.
                sReader.Close();
                cStream.Close();
                fStream.Close();
            }

            // Return the string. 
            return val;
        }
        catch (CryptographicException e)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("A Cryptographic error occurred: {0}", e.Message);
            return null;
        }
        catch (UnauthorizedAccessException e)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("A file error occurred: {0}", e.Message);
            return null;
        }
    }
}
System..::.Object
  System..::.MarshalByRefObject
    System.IO..::.Stream
      System.Security.Cryptography..::.CryptoStream
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 2.0
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