Using the data protection API, I found I needed to be able to generate values by hand that my apps can work with later. So I wrote a small command line utility to help out with that process.

Example:

dpapicmd [/user] [/decrypt] [/utf8] [/entropy:<entropy>] {/clipboard|<text>}
Text is read as Base64 bytes unless /utf8 is used. Decrypted input and encrypted output is always Base64.

C:\>dpapicmd /utf8 /entropy:dogstuff "I'm barking mad."
AQAAANCMnd8BFdERjHoAwE/Cl+sBAAAAOE510Ds5PkGpG2g7PxkgXwQAAAACAAAAAAAQZgAAAAEAACAAAACSClIQpWDawT26jRrsFr/HauG2NjUw963fPKH+AcXqlwAAAAAOgAAAAAIAACAAAABwxg
Osbkh6TfdTUzaiEGgKJ/ohL91VGHIpRDrBeR7wvyAAAADyvUh1W+bmzUFago/LybBvmmQD96x2vCOiJgpPxTNItEAAAAAmVJ3DoTnIAfUIsO2ea8hqs6Rpp77gvDn77XAzXfACRY3IGT7BjicYJ7Og
NQhzsrHCybBK0DRQchrPK5+XT8TR

C:\>dpapicmd /utf8 /dec /entropy:dogstuff AQAAANCMnd8BFdERjHoAwE/Cl+sBAAAAOE510Ds5PkGpG2g7PxkgXwQAAAACAAAAAAAQZgAAAAEAACAAAACSClIQpWDawT26jRrsFr/HauG2
NjUw963fPKH+AcXqlwAAAAAOgAAAAAIAACAAAABwxgOsbkh6TfdTUzaiEGgKJ/ohL91VGHIpRDrBeR7wvyAAAADyvUh1W+bmzUFago/LybBvmmQD96x2vCOiJgpPxTNItEAAAAAmVJ3DoTnIAfUIsO
2ea8hqs6Rpp77gvDn77XAzXfACRY3IGT7BjicYJ7OgNQhzsrHCybBK0DRQchrPK5+XT8TR

I'm barking mad.

Download: dpapicmd.exe (7.5 KB) (Requires .NET 2.0 because I'm too lazy to write it in C.)

And horrible hacky source: dpapicmd.cs.txt (4.25 KB)