Simple insecure two-way data "obfuscation"?

Other answers here work fine, but AES is a more secure and up-to-date encryption algorithm. This is a class that I obtained a few years ago to perform AES encryption that I have modified over time to be more friendly for web applications (e,g. I've built Encrypt/Decrypt methods that work with URL-friendly string). It also has the methods that work with byte arrays.

NOTE: you should use different values in the Key (32 bytes) and Vector (16 bytes) arrays! You wouldn't want someone to figure out your keys by just assuming that you used this code as-is! All you have to do is change some of the numbers (must be <= 255) in the Key and Vector arrays (I left one invalid value in the Vector array to make sure you do this...). You can use https://www.random.org/bytes/ to generate a new set easily:

generate Key

generate Vector

Using it is easy: just instantiate the class and then call (usually) EncryptToString(string StringToEncrypt) and DecryptString(string StringToDecrypt) as methods. It couldn't be any easier (or more secure) once you have this class in place.

using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Security.Cryptography;
using System.IO;


public class SimpleAES
{
    // Change these keys
    private byte[] Key = __Replace_Me__({ 123, 217, 19, 11, 24, 26, 85, 45, 114, 184, 27, 162, 37, 112, 222, 209, 241, 24, 175, 144, 173, 53, 196, 29, 24, 26, 17, 218, 131, 236, 53, 209 });

    // a hardcoded IV should not be used for production AES-CBC code
    // IVs should be unpredictable per ciphertext
    private byte[] Vector = __Replace_Me__({ 146, 64, 191, 111, 23, 3, 113, 119, 231, 121, 2521, 112, 79, 32, 114, 156 });


    private ICryptoTransform EncryptorTransform, DecryptorTransform;
    private System.Text.UTF8Encoding UTFEncoder;

    public SimpleAES()
    {
        //This is our encryption method
        RijndaelManaged rm = new RijndaelManaged();

        //Create an encryptor and a decryptor using our encryption method, key, and vector.
        EncryptorTransform = rm.CreateEncryptor(this.Key, this.Vector);
        DecryptorTransform = rm.CreateDecryptor(this.Key, this.Vector);

        //Used to translate bytes to text and vice versa
        UTFEncoder = new System.Text.UTF8Encoding();
    }

    /// -------------- Two Utility Methods (not used but may be useful) -----------
    /// Generates an encryption key.
    static public byte[] GenerateEncryptionKey()
    {
        //Generate a Key.
        RijndaelManaged rm = new RijndaelManaged();
        rm.GenerateKey();
        return rm.Key;
    }

    /// Generates a unique encryption vector
    static public byte[] GenerateEncryptionVector()
    {
        //Generate a Vector
        RijndaelManaged rm = new RijndaelManaged();
        rm.GenerateIV();
        return rm.IV;
    }


    /// ----------- The commonly used methods ------------------------------    
    /// Encrypt some text and return a string suitable for passing in a URL.
    public string EncryptToString(string TextValue)
    {
        return ByteArrToString(Encrypt(TextValue));
    }

    /// Encrypt some text and return an encrypted byte array.
    public byte[] Encrypt(string TextValue)
    {
        //Translates our text value into a byte array.
        Byte[] bytes = UTFEncoder.GetBytes(TextValue);

        //Used to stream the data in and out of the CryptoStream.
        MemoryStream memoryStream = new MemoryStream();

        /*
         * We will have to write the unencrypted bytes to the stream,
         * then read the encrypted result back from the stream.
         */
        #region Write the decrypted value to the encryption stream
        CryptoStream cs = new CryptoStream(memoryStream, EncryptorTransform, CryptoStreamMode.Write);
        cs.Write(bytes, 0, bytes.Length);
        cs.FlushFinalBlock();
        #endregion

        #region Read encrypted value back out of the stream
        memoryStream.Position = 0;
        byte[] encrypted = new byte[memoryStream.Length];
        memoryStream.Read(encrypted, 0, encrypted.Length);
        #endregion

        //Clean up.
        cs.Close();
        memoryStream.Close();

        return encrypted;
    }

    /// The other side: Decryption methods
    public string DecryptString(string EncryptedString)
    {
        return Decrypt(StrToByteArray(EncryptedString));
    }

    /// Decryption when working with byte arrays.    
    public string Decrypt(byte[] EncryptedValue)
    {
        #region Write the encrypted value to the decryption stream
        MemoryStream encryptedStream = new MemoryStream();
        CryptoStream decryptStream = new CryptoStream(encryptedStream, DecryptorTransform, CryptoStreamMode.Write);
        decryptStream.Write(EncryptedValue, 0, EncryptedValue.Length);
        decryptStream.FlushFinalBlock();
        #endregion

        #region Read the decrypted value from the stream.
        encryptedStream.Position = 0;
        Byte[] decryptedBytes = new Byte[encryptedStream.Length];
        encryptedStream.Read(decryptedBytes, 0, decryptedBytes.Length);
        encryptedStream.Close();
        #endregion
        return UTFEncoder.GetString(decryptedBytes);
    }

    /// Convert a string to a byte array.  NOTE: Normally we'd create a Byte Array from a string using an ASCII encoding (like so).
    //      System.Text.ASCIIEncoding encoding = new System.Text.ASCIIEncoding();
    //      return encoding.GetBytes(str);
    // However, this results in character values that cannot be passed in a URL.  So, instead, I just
    // lay out all of the byte values in a long string of numbers (three per - must pad numbers less than 100).
    public byte[] StrToByteArray(string str)
    {
        if (str.Length == 0)
            throw new Exception("Invalid string value in StrToByteArray");

        byte val;
        byte[] byteArr = new byte[str.Length / 3];
        int i = 0;
        int j = 0;
        do
        {
            val = byte.Parse(str.Substring(i, 3));
            byteArr[j++] = val;
            i += 3;
        }
        while (i < str.Length);
        return byteArr;
    }

    // Same comment as above.  Normally the conversion would use an ASCII encoding in the other direction:
    //      System.Text.ASCIIEncoding enc = new System.Text.ASCIIEncoding();
    //      return enc.GetString(byteArr);    
    public string ByteArrToString(byte[] byteArr)
    {
        byte val;
        string tempStr = "";
        for (int i = 0; i <= byteArr.GetUpperBound(0); i++)
        {
            val = byteArr[i];
            if (val < (byte)10)
                tempStr += "00" + val.ToString();
            else if (val < (byte)100)
                tempStr += "0" + val.ToString();
            else
                tempStr += val.ToString();
        }
        return tempStr;
    }
}

I cleaned up SimpleAES (above) for my use. Fixed convoluted encrypt/decrypt methods; separated methods for encoding byte buffers, strings, and URL-friendly strings; made use of existing libraries for URL encoding.

The code is small, simpler, faster and the output is more concise. For instance, johnsmith@gmail.com produces:

SimpleAES: "096114178117140150104121138042115022037019164188092040214235183167012211175176167001017163166152"
SimplerAES: "YHKydYyWaHmKKnMWJROkvFwo1uu3pwzTr7CnARGjppg%3d"

Code:

public class SimplerAES
{
    private static byte[] key = __Replace_Me__({ 123, 217, 19, 11, 24, 26, 85, 45, 114, 184, 27, 162, 37, 112, 222, 209, 241, 24, 175, 144, 173, 53, 196, 29, 24, 26, 17, 218, 131, 236, 53, 209 });

    // a hardcoded IV should not be used for production AES-CBC code
    // IVs should be unpredictable per ciphertext
    private static byte[] vector = __Replace_Me_({ 146, 64, 191, 111, 23, 3, 113, 119, 231, 121, 221, 112, 79, 32, 114, 156 });

    private ICryptoTransform encryptor, decryptor;
    private UTF8Encoding encoder;

    public SimplerAES()
    {
        RijndaelManaged rm = new RijndaelManaged();
        encryptor = rm.CreateEncryptor(key, vector);
        decryptor = rm.CreateDecryptor(key, vector);
        encoder = new UTF8Encoding();
    }

    public string Encrypt(string unencrypted)
    {
        return Convert.ToBase64String(Encrypt(encoder.GetBytes(unencrypted)));
    }

    public string Decrypt(string encrypted)
    {
        return encoder.GetString(Decrypt(Convert.FromBase64String(encrypted)));
    }

    public byte[] Encrypt(byte[] buffer)
    {
        return Transform(buffer, encryptor);
    }

    public byte[] Decrypt(byte[] buffer)
    {
        return Transform(buffer, decryptor);
    }

    protected byte[] Transform(byte[] buffer, ICryptoTransform transform)
    {
        MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
        using (CryptoStream cs = new CryptoStream(stream, transform, CryptoStreamMode.Write))
        {
            cs.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
        }
        return stream.ToArray();
    }
}

Yes, add the System.Security assembly, import the System.Security.Cryptography namespace. Here's a simple example of a symmetric (DES) algorithm encryption:

DESCryptoServiceProvider des = new DESCryptoServiceProvider();
des.GenerateKey();
byte[] key = des.Key; // save this!

ICryptoTransform encryptor = des.CreateEncryptor();
// encrypt
byte[] enc = encryptor.TransformFinalBlock(new byte[] { 1, 2, 3, 4 }, 0, 4);

ICryptoTransform decryptor = des.CreateDecryptor();

// decrypt
byte[] originalAgain = decryptor.TransformFinalBlock(enc, 0, enc.Length);
Debug.Assert(originalAgain[0] == 1);

Just thought I'd add that I've improved Mud's SimplerAES by adding a random IV that's passed back inside the encrypted string. This improves the encryption as encrypting the same string will result in a different output each time.

public class StringEncryption
{
    private readonly Random random;
    private readonly byte[] key;
    private readonly RijndaelManaged rm;
    private readonly UTF8Encoding encoder;

    public StringEncryption()
    {
        this.random = new Random();
        this.rm = new RijndaelManaged();
        this.encoder = new UTF8Encoding();
        this.key = Convert.FromBase64String("Your+Secret+Static+Encryption+Key+Goes+Here=");
    }

    public string Encrypt(string unencrypted)
    {
        var vector = new byte[16];
        this.random.NextBytes(vector);
        var cryptogram = vector.Concat(this.Encrypt(this.encoder.GetBytes(unencrypted), vector));
        return Convert.ToBase64String(cryptogram.ToArray());
    }

    public string Decrypt(string encrypted)
    {
        var cryptogram = Convert.FromBase64String(encrypted);
        if (cryptogram.Length < 17)
        {
            throw new ArgumentException("Not a valid encrypted string", "encrypted");
        }

        var vector = cryptogram.Take(16).ToArray();
        var buffer = cryptogram.Skip(16).ToArray();
        return this.encoder.GetString(this.Decrypt(buffer, vector));
    }

    private byte[] Encrypt(byte[] buffer, byte[] vector)
    {
        var encryptor = this.rm.CreateEncryptor(this.key, vector);
        return this.Transform(buffer, encryptor);
    }

    private byte[] Decrypt(byte[] buffer, byte[] vector)
    {
        var decryptor = this.rm.CreateDecryptor(this.key, vector);
        return this.Transform(buffer, decryptor);
    }

    private byte[] Transform(byte[] buffer, ICryptoTransform transform)
    {
        var stream = new MemoryStream();
        using (var cs = new CryptoStream(stream, transform, CryptoStreamMode.Write))
        {
            cs.Write(buffer, 0, buffer.Length);
        }

        return stream.ToArray();
    }
}

And bonus unit test

[Test]
public void EncryptDecrypt()
{
    // Arrange
    var subject = new StringEncryption();
    var originalString = "Testing123!£$";

    // Act
    var encryptedString1 = subject.Encrypt(originalString);
    var encryptedString2 = subject.Encrypt(originalString);
    var decryptedString1 = subject.Decrypt(encryptedString1);
    var decryptedString2 = subject.Decrypt(encryptedString2);

    // Assert
    Assert.AreEqual(originalString, decryptedString1, "Decrypted string should match original string");
    Assert.AreEqual(originalString, decryptedString2, "Decrypted string should match original string");
    Assert.AreNotEqual(originalString, encryptedString1, "Encrypted string should not match original string");
    Assert.AreNotEqual(encryptedString1, encryptedString2, "String should never be encrypted the same twice");
}

A variant of Marks (excellent) answer

Add "using"s

Make the class IDisposable

Remove the URL encoding code to make the example simpler.

Add a simple test fixture to demonstrate usage

Hope this helps

[TestFixture]
public class RijndaelHelperTests
{
    [Test]
    public void UseCase()
    {
        //These two values should not be hard coded in your code.
        byte[] key = {251, 9, 67, 117, 237, 158, 138, 150, 255, 97, 103, 128, 183, 65, 76, 161, 7, 79, 244, 225, 146, 180, 51, 123, 118, 167, 45, 10, 184, 181, 202, 190};
        byte[] vector = {214, 11, 221, 108, 210, 71, 14, 15, 151, 57, 241, 174, 177, 142, 115, 137};

        using (var rijndaelHelper = new RijndaelHelper(key, vector))
        {
            var encrypt = rijndaelHelper.Encrypt("StringToEncrypt");
            var decrypt = rijndaelHelper.Decrypt(encrypt);
            Assert.AreEqual("StringToEncrypt", decrypt);
        }
    }
}

public class RijndaelHelper : IDisposable
{
    Rijndael rijndael;
    UTF8Encoding encoding;

    public RijndaelHelper(byte[] key, byte[] vector)
    {
        encoding = new UTF8Encoding();
        rijndael = Rijndael.Create();
        rijndael.Key = key;
        rijndael.IV = vector;
    }

    public byte[] Encrypt(string valueToEncrypt)
    {
        var bytes = encoding.GetBytes(valueToEncrypt);
        using (var encryptor = rijndael.CreateEncryptor())
        using (var stream = new MemoryStream())
        using (var crypto = new CryptoStream(stream, encryptor, CryptoStreamMode.Write))
        {
            crypto.Write(bytes, 0, bytes.Length);
            crypto.FlushFinalBlock();
            stream.Position = 0;
            var encrypted = new byte[stream.Length];
            stream.Read(encrypted, 0, encrypted.Length);
            return encrypted;
        }
    }

    public string Decrypt(byte[] encryptedValue)
    {
        using (var decryptor = rijndael.CreateDecryptor())
        using (var stream = new MemoryStream())
        using (var crypto = new CryptoStream(stream, decryptor, CryptoStreamMode.Write))
        {
            crypto.Write(encryptedValue, 0, encryptedValue.Length);
            crypto.FlushFinalBlock();
            stream.Position = 0;
            var decryptedBytes = new Byte[stream.Length];
            stream.Read(decryptedBytes, 0, decryptedBytes.Length);
            return encoding.GetString(decryptedBytes);
        }
    }

    public void Dispose()
    {
        if (rijndael != null)
        {
            rijndael.Dispose();
        }
    }
}

I combined what I found the best from several answers and comments.

Random initialization vector prepended to crypto text (@jbtule)

Use TransformFinalBlock() instead of MemoryStream (@RenniePet)

No pre-filled keys to avoid anyone copy & pasting a disaster

Proper dispose and using patterns

Code:

/// <summary>
/// Simple encryption/decryption using a random initialization vector
/// and prepending it to the crypto text.
/// </summary>
/// <remarks>Based on multiple answers in http://stackoverflow.com/questions/165808/simple-two-way-encryption-for-c-sharp </remarks>
public class SimpleAes : IDisposable
{
    /// <summary>
    ///     Initialization vector length in bytes.
    /// </summary>
    private const int IvBytes = 16;

    /// <summary>
    ///     Must be exactly 16, 24 or 32 bytes long.
    /// </summary>
    private static readonly byte[] Key = Convert.FromBase64String("FILL ME WITH 24 (2 pad chars), 32 OR 44 (1 pad char) RANDOM CHARS"); // Base64 has a blowup of four-thirds (33%)

    private readonly UTF8Encoding _encoder;
    private readonly ICryptoTransform _encryptor;
    private readonly RijndaelManaged _rijndael;

    public SimpleAes()
    {
        _rijndael = new RijndaelManaged {Key = Key};
        _rijndael.GenerateIV();
        _encryptor = _rijndael.CreateEncryptor();
        _encoder = new UTF8Encoding();
    }

    public string Decrypt(string encrypted)
    {
        return _encoder.GetString(Decrypt(Convert.FromBase64String(encrypted)));
    }

    public void Dispose()
    {
        _rijndael.Dispose();
        _encryptor.Dispose();
    }

    public string Encrypt(string unencrypted)
    {
        return Convert.ToBase64String(Encrypt(_encoder.GetBytes(unencrypted)));
    }

    private byte[] Decrypt(byte[] buffer)
    {
        // IV is prepended to cryptotext
        byte[] iv = buffer.Take(IvBytes).ToArray();
        using (ICryptoTransform decryptor = _rijndael.CreateDecryptor(_rijndael.Key, iv))
        {
            return decryptor.TransformFinalBlock(buffer, IvBytes, buffer.Length - IvBytes);
        }
    }

    private byte[] Encrypt(byte[] buffer)
    {
        // Prepend cryptotext with IV
        byte [] inputBuffer = _encryptor.TransformFinalBlock(buffer, 0, buffer.Length); 
        return _rijndael.IV.Concat(inputBuffer).ToArray();
    }
}

Update 2015-07-18: Fixed mistake in private Encrypt() method by comments of @bpsilver and @Evereq. IV was accidentally encrypted, is now prepended in clear text as expected by Decrypt().

Using TripleDESCryptoServiceProvider in System.Security.Cryptography :

public static class CryptoHelper
{
    private const string Key = "MyHashString";
    private static TripleDESCryptoServiceProvider GetCryproProvider()
    {
        var md5 = new MD5CryptoServiceProvider();
        var key = md5.ComputeHash(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(Key));
        return new TripleDESCryptoServiceProvider() { Key = key, Mode = CipherMode.ECB, Padding = PaddingMode.PKCS7 };
    }

    public static string Encrypt(string plainString)
    {
        var data = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(plainString);
        var tripleDes = GetCryproProvider();
        var transform = tripleDes.CreateEncryptor();
        var resultsByteArray = transform.TransformFinalBlock(data, 0, data.Length);
        return Convert.ToBase64String(resultsByteArray);
    }

    public static string Decrypt(string encryptedString)
    {
        var data = Convert.FromBase64String(encryptedString);
        var tripleDes = GetCryproProvider();
        var transform = tripleDes.CreateDecryptor();
        var resultsByteArray = transform.TransformFinalBlock(data, 0, data.Length);
        return Encoding.UTF8.GetString(resultsByteArray);
    }
}

[EDIT] Years later, I've come back to say: don't do this! See What's wrong with XOR encryption? for details.

A very simple, easy two-way encrytpion is XOR encryption.

Come up with a password. Let's have it be mypass. Convert the password into binary (according to ASCII). The password becomes 01101101 01111001 01110000 01100001 01110011 01110011. Take the message you want to encode. Convert that into binary, also. Look at the length of the message. If the message length is 400 bytes, turn the password into a 400 byte string by repeating it over and over again. It would become 01101101 01111001 01110000 01100001 01110011 01110011 01101101 01111001 01110000 01100001 01110011 01110011 01101101 01111001 01110000 01100001 01110011 01110011... (or mypassmypassmypass...) XOR the message with the long password. Send the result. Another time, XOR the encrypted message with the same password (mypassmypassmypass...). There's your message!

Encryption is easy: as others have pointed out, there are classes in the System.Security.Cryptography namespace that do all the work for you. Use them rather than any home-grown solution.

But decryption is easy too. The issue you have is not the encryption algorithm, but protecting access to the key used for decryption.

I would use one of the following solutions:

DPAPI using the ProtectedData class with CurrentUser scope. This is easy as you don't need to worry about a key. Data can only be decrypted by the same user, so no good for sharing data between users or machines.

DPAPI using the ProtectedData class with LocalMachine scope. Good for e.g. protecting configuration data on a single secure server. But anyone who can log into the machine can encrypt it, so no good unless the server is secure.

Any symmetric algorithm. I typically use the static SymmetricAlgorithm.Create() method if I don't care what algorithm is used (in fact it's Rijndael by default). In this case you need to protect your key somehow. E.g. you can obfuscate it in some way and hide it in your code. But be aware that anyone who is smart enough to decompile your code will likely be able to find the key.

I wanted to post my solution since none of the above the solutions are as simple as mine. Let me know what you think:

 // This will return an encrypted string based on the unencrypted parameter
 public static string Encrypt(this string DecryptedValue)
 {
      HttpServerUtility.UrlTokenEncode(MachineKey.Protect(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(DecryptedValue.Trim())));
 }

 // This will return an unencrypted string based on the parameter
 public static string Decrypt(this string EncryptedValue)
 {
      Encoding.UTF8.GetString(MachineKey.Unprotect(HttpServerUtility.UrlTokenDecode(EncryptedValue)));
 }

Optional

This assumes that the MachineKey of the server used to encrypt the value is the same as the one used to decrypt the value. If desired, you can specify a static MachineKey in the Web.config so that your application can decrypt/encrypt data regardless of where it is run (e.g. development vs. production server). You can generate a static machine key following these instructions.

If you just want simple encryption (i.e., possible for a determined cracker to break, but locking out most casual users), just pick two passphrases of equal length, say:

deoxyribonucleicacid
while (x>0) { x-- };

and xor your data with both of them (looping the passphrases if necessary)(a). For example:

1111-2222-3333-4444-5555-6666-7777
deoxyribonucleicaciddeoxyribonucle
while (x>0) { x-- };while (x>0) { 

Someone searching your binary may well think the DNA string is a key, but they're unlikely to think the C code is anything other than uninitialized memory saved with your binary.

(a) Keep in mind this is very simple encryption and, by some definitions, may not be considered encryption at all (since the intent of encryption is to prevent unauthorised access rather than just make it more difficult). Although, of course, even the strongest encryption is insecure when someone's standing over the key-holders with a steel pipe.

As stated in the first sentence, this is a means to make it difficult enough for the casual attacker that they'll move on. It's similar to preventing burglaries on your home - you don't need to make it impregnable, you just need to make it less pregnable than the house next door :-)

The namespace System.Security.Cryptography contains the TripleDESCryptoServiceProvider and RijndaelManaged classes

Don't forget to add a reference to the System.Security assembly.

I changed this:

public string ByteArrToString(byte[] byteArr)
{
    byte val;
    string tempStr = "";
    for (int i = 0; i <= byteArr.GetUpperBound(0); i++)
    {
        val = byteArr[i];
        if (val < (byte)10)
            tempStr += "00" + val.ToString();
        else if (val < (byte)100)
            tempStr += "0" + val.ToString();
        else
            tempStr += val.ToString();
    }
    return tempStr;
}

to this:

    public string ByteArrToString(byte[] byteArr)
    {
        string temp = "";
        foreach (byte b in byteArr)
            temp += b.ToString().PadLeft(3, '0');
        return temp;
    }

Using the builtin .Net Cryptography library, this example shows how to use the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Security.Cryptography;

namespace Aes_Example
{
    class AesExample
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            try
            {

                string original = "Here is some data to encrypt!";

                // Create a new instance of the Aes
                // class.  This generates a new key and initialization 
                // vector (IV).
                using (Aes myAes = Aes.Create())
                {

                    // Encrypt the string to an array of bytes.
                    byte[] encrypted = EncryptStringToBytes_Aes(original, myAes.Key, myAes.IV);

                    // Decrypt the bytes to a string.
                    string roundtrip = DecryptStringFromBytes_Aes(encrypted, myAes.Key, myAes.IV);

                    //Display the original data and the decrypted data.
                    Console.WriteLine("Original:   {0}", original);
                    Console.WriteLine("Round Trip: {0}", roundtrip);
                }

            }
            catch (Exception e)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Error: {0}", e.Message);
            }
        }
        static byte[] EncryptStringToBytes_Aes(string plainText, byte[] Key,byte[] IV)
        {
            // Check arguments.
            if (plainText == null || plainText.Length <= 0)
                throw new ArgumentNullException("plainText");
            if (Key == null || Key.Length <= 0)
                throw new ArgumentNullException("Key");
            if (IV == null || IV.Length <= 0)
                throw new ArgumentNullException("Key");
            byte[] encrypted;
            // Create an Aes object
            // with the specified key and IV.
            using (Aes aesAlg = Aes.Create())
            {
                aesAlg.Key = Key;
                aesAlg.IV = IV;

                // Create a decrytor to perform the stream transform.
                ICryptoTransform encryptor = aesAlg.CreateEncryptor(aesAlg.Key, aesAlg.IV);

                // Create the streams used for encryption.
                using (MemoryStream msEncrypt = new MemoryStream())
                {
                    using (CryptoStream csEncrypt = new CryptoStream(msEncrypt, encryptor, CryptoStreamMode.Write))
                    {
                        using (StreamWriter swEncrypt = new StreamWriter(csEncrypt))
                        {

                            //Write all data to the stream.
                            swEncrypt.Write(plainText);
                        }
                        encrypted = msEncrypt.ToArray();
                    }
                }
            }


            // Return the encrypted bytes from the memory stream.
            return encrypted;

        }

        static string DecryptStringFromBytes_Aes(byte[] cipherText, byte[] Key, byte[] IV)
        {
            // Check arguments.
            if (cipherText == null || cipherText.Length <= 0)
                throw new ArgumentNullException("cipherText");
            if (Key == null || Key.Length <= 0)
                throw new ArgumentNullException("Key");
            if (IV == null || IV.Length <= 0)
                throw new ArgumentNullException("Key");

            // Declare the string used to hold
            // the decrypted text.
            string plaintext = null;

            // Create an Aes object
            // with the specified key and IV.
            using (Aes aesAlg = Aes.Create())
            {
                aesAlg.Key = Key;
                aesAlg.IV = IV;

                // Create a decrytor to perform the stream transform.
                ICryptoTransform decryptor = aesAlg.CreateDecryptor(aesAlg.Key, aesAlg.IV);

                // Create the streams used for decryption.
                using (MemoryStream msDecrypt = new MemoryStream(cipherText))
                {
                    using (CryptoStream csDecrypt = new CryptoStream(msDecrypt, decryptor, CryptoStreamMode.Read))
                    {
                        using (StreamReader srDecrypt = new StreamReader(csDecrypt))
                        {

                            // Read the decrypted bytes from the decrypting stream
                            // and place them in a string.
                            plaintext = srDecrypt.ReadToEnd();
                        }
                    }
                }

            }

            return plaintext;

        }
    }
}

I know you said you don't care about how secure it is, but if you chose DES you might as well take AES it is the more up-to-date encryption method.

I've been using the accepted answer by Mark Brittingham and its has helped me a lot. Recently I had to send encrypted text to a different organization and that's where some issues came up. The OP does not require these options but since this is a popular question I'm posting my modification (Encrypt and Decrypt functions borrowed from here):

Different IV for every message - Concatenates IV bytes to the cipher bytes before obtaining the hex. Of course this is a convention that needs to be conveyed to the parties receiving the cipher text. Allows two constructors - one for default RijndaelManaged values, and one where property values can be specified (based on mutual agreement between encrypting and decrypting parties)

Here is the class (test sample at the end):

/// <summary>
/// Based on https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.security.cryptography.rijndaelmanaged(v=vs.110).aspx
/// Uses UTF8 Encoding
///  http://security.stackexchange.com/a/90850
/// </summary>
public class AnotherAES : IDisposable
{
    private RijndaelManaged rijn;

    /// <summary>
    /// Initialize algo with key, block size, key size, padding mode and cipher mode to be known.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="key">ASCII key to be used for encryption or decryption</param>
    /// <param name="blockSize">block size to use for AES algorithm. 128, 192 or 256 bits</param>
    /// <param name="keySize">key length to use for AES algorithm. 128, 192, or 256 bits</param>
    /// <param name="paddingMode"></param>
    /// <param name="cipherMode"></param>
    public AnotherAES(string key, int blockSize, int keySize, PaddingMode paddingMode, CipherMode cipherMode)
    {
        rijn = new RijndaelManaged();
        rijn.Key = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(key);
        rijn.BlockSize = blockSize;
        rijn.KeySize = keySize;
        rijn.Padding = paddingMode;
        rijn.Mode = cipherMode;
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Initialize algo just with key
    /// Defaults for RijndaelManaged class: 
    /// Block Size: 256 bits (32 bytes)
    /// Key Size: 128 bits (16 bytes)
    /// Padding Mode: PKCS7
    /// Cipher Mode: CBC
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="key"></param>
    public AnotherAES(string key)
    {
        rijn = new RijndaelManaged();
        byte[] keyArray = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(key);
        rijn.Key = keyArray;
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Based on https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.security.cryptography.rijndaelmanaged(v=vs.110).aspx
    /// Encrypt a string using RijndaelManaged encryptor.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="plainText">string to be encrypted</param>
    /// <param name="IV">initialization vector to be used by crypto algorithm</param>
    /// <returns></returns>
    public byte[] Encrypt(string plainText, byte[] IV)
    {
        if (rijn == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("Provider not initialized");

        // Check arguments.
        if (plainText == null || plainText.Length <= 0)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("plainText cannot be null or empty");
        if (IV == null || IV.Length <= 0)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("IV cannot be null or empty");
        byte[] encrypted;

        // Create a decrytor to perform the stream transform.
        using (ICryptoTransform encryptor = rijn.CreateEncryptor(rijn.Key, IV))
        {
            // Create the streams used for encryption.
            using (MemoryStream msEncrypt = new MemoryStream())
            {
                using (CryptoStream csEncrypt = new CryptoStream(msEncrypt, encryptor, CryptoStreamMode.Write))
                {
                    using (StreamWriter swEncrypt = new StreamWriter(csEncrypt))
                    {
                        //Write all data to the stream.
                        swEncrypt.Write(plainText);
                    }
                    encrypted = msEncrypt.ToArray();
                }
            }
        }
        // Return the encrypted bytes from the memory stream.
        return encrypted;
    }//end EncryptStringToBytes

    /// <summary>
    /// Based on https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.security.cryptography.rijndaelmanaged(v=vs.110).aspx
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="cipherText">bytes to be decrypted back to plaintext</param>
    /// <param name="IV">initialization vector used to encrypt the bytes</param>
    /// <returns></returns>
    public string Decrypt(byte[] cipherText, byte[] IV)
    {
        if (rijn == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("Provider not initialized");

        // Check arguments.
        if (cipherText == null || cipherText.Length <= 0)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("cipherText cannot be null or empty");
        if (IV == null || IV.Length <= 0)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("IV cannot be null or empty");

        // Declare the string used to hold the decrypted text.
        string plaintext = null;

        // Create a decrytor to perform the stream transform.
        using (ICryptoTransform decryptor = rijn.CreateDecryptor(rijn.Key, IV))
        {
            // Create the streams used for decryption.
            using (MemoryStream msDecrypt = new MemoryStream(cipherText))
            {
                using (CryptoStream csDecrypt = new CryptoStream(msDecrypt, decryptor, CryptoStreamMode.Read))
                {
                    using (StreamReader srDecrypt = new StreamReader(csDecrypt))
                    {
                        // Read the decrypted bytes from the decrypting stream and place them in a string.
                        plaintext = srDecrypt.ReadToEnd();
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        return plaintext;
    }//end DecryptStringFromBytes

    /// <summary>
    /// Generates a unique encryption vector using RijndaelManaged.GenerateIV() method
    /// </summary>
    /// <returns></returns>
    public byte[] GenerateEncryptionVector()
    {
        if (rijn == null)
            throw new ArgumentNullException("Provider not initialized");

        //Generate a Vector
        rijn.GenerateIV();
        return rijn.IV;
    }//end GenerateEncryptionVector


    /// <summary>
    /// Based on https://stackoverflow.com/a/1344255
    /// Generate a unique string given number of bytes required.
    /// This string can be used as IV. IV byte size should be equal to cipher-block byte size. 
    /// Allows seeing IV in plaintext so it can be passed along a url or some message.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="numBytes"></param>
    /// <returns></returns>
    public static string GetUniqueString(int numBytes)
    {
        char[] chars = new char[62];
        chars = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890".ToCharArray();
        byte[] data = new byte[1];
        using (RNGCryptoServiceProvider crypto = new RNGCryptoServiceProvider())
        {
            data = new byte[numBytes];
            crypto.GetBytes(data);
        }
        StringBuilder result = new StringBuilder(numBytes);
        foreach (byte b in data)
        {
            result.Append(chars[b % (chars.Length)]);
        }
        return result.ToString();
    }//end GetUniqueKey()

    /// <summary>
    /// Converts a string to byte array. Useful when converting back hex string which was originally formed from bytes.
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="hex"></param>
    /// <returns></returns>
    public static byte[] StringToByteArray(String hex)
    {
        int NumberChars = hex.Length;
        byte[] bytes = new byte[NumberChars / 2];
        for (int i = 0; i < NumberChars; i += 2)
            bytes[i / 2] = Convert.ToByte(hex.Substring(i, 2), 16);
        return bytes;
    }//end StringToByteArray

    /// <summary>
    /// Dispose RijndaelManaged object initialized in the constructor
    /// </summary>
    public void Dispose()
    {
        if (rijn != null)
            rijn.Dispose();
    }//end Dispose()
}//end class

and..

Here is the test sample:

class Program
{
    string key;
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        Program p = new Program();

        //get 16 byte key (just demo - typically you will have a predetermined key)
        p.key = AnotherAES.GetUniqueString(16);

        string plainText = "Hello World!";

        //encrypt
        string hex = p.Encrypt(plainText);

        //decrypt
        string roundTrip = p.Decrypt(hex);

        Console.WriteLine("Round Trip: {0}", roundTrip);
    }

    string Encrypt(string plainText)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("\nSending (encrypt side)...");
        Console.WriteLine("Plain Text: {0}", plainText);
        Console.WriteLine("Key: {0}", key);
        string hex = string.Empty;
        string ivString = AnotherAES.GetUniqueString(16);
        Console.WriteLine("IV: {0}", ivString);
        using (AnotherAES aes = new AnotherAES(key))
        {
            //encrypting side
            byte[] IV = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(ivString);

            //get encrypted bytes (IV bytes prepended to cipher bytes)
            byte[] encryptedBytes = aes.Encrypt(plainText, IV);
            byte[] encryptedBytesWithIV = IV.Concat(encryptedBytes).ToArray();

            //get hex string to send with url
            //this hex has both IV and ciphertext
            hex = BitConverter.ToString(encryptedBytesWithIV).Replace("-", "");
            Console.WriteLine("sending hex: {0}", hex);
        }

        return hex;
    }

    string Decrypt(string hex)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("\nReceiving (decrypt side)...");
        Console.WriteLine("received hex: {0}", hex);
        string roundTrip = string.Empty;
        Console.WriteLine("Key " + key);
        using (AnotherAES aes = new AnotherAES(key))
        {
            //get bytes from url
            byte[] encryptedBytesWithIV = AnotherAES.StringToByteArray(hex);

            byte[] IV = encryptedBytesWithIV.Take(16).ToArray();

            Console.WriteLine("IV: {0}", System.Text.Encoding.Default.GetString(IV));

            byte[] cipher = encryptedBytesWithIV.Skip(16).ToArray();

            roundTrip = aes.Decrypt(cipher, IV);
        }
        return roundTrip;
    }
}

https://i.stack.imgur.com/BFsDZ.png

I think this is the worlds simplest one !

string encrypted = "Text".Aggregate("", (c, a) => c + (char) (a + 2));

Test

 Console.WriteLine(("Hello").Aggregate("", (c, a) => c + (char) (a + 1)));
            //Output is Ifmmp
 Console.WriteLine(("Ifmmp").Aggregate("", (c, a) => c + (char)(a - 1)));
            //Output is Hello