Cryptii: Fine tool for modular conversion

I have over the last few weeks been looking for a tool that supports modular conversion and out of the very few, I settled for Cryptii. So, if you’ve been scratching your head looking for a tool that you can use to encrypt, convert or encode a message online, give it a try. 

At first, the platform looks intimidating for the less tech-savvy user but once you get the feel of it, satisfaction sets in. The tool is very easy to use and very helpful in building modular encryption and encoding conversions. The Cryptii interface is fun once you learn the ropes and it takes a few minutes to encrypt, convert or encode.

The App simplicity is on the surface; on the inside, it is a serious tool that I manipulate by choosing the translation method and settings that I am comfortable with. Once the selected parameters are in place, results are immediate.

Cryptii Overview

The Cryptii online App is an open-source tool that is licensed by MIT. The Tool helps the user decode and encode different formats of codes. The application was developed by Fränz Friederes and has undergone tremendous improvements over the years.

According to the Cryptii developer, Fränz Friederes and former engineer at Taikonauten;

“Cryptii is a web app that encodes, decodes, encrypts, decrypts, converts, translates, simulates and views content online offering a variety of ciphers, formats, algorithms and methods.”

The tool lowers the cost of decoding information. It saves you the time to go through Simon Singh’s The Code Book to learn the history of cryptography. The Cryptii App is free to use and you do not need the Enigma Machine for your decoding.

Cryptii User Experience

The Cryptii user App experience awesome and fun by making coding and decoding easy, plus you can convert to any text and share.  The tools simplicity allows you to convert text into alphabet mode, numeric, simple substitution or even hash.

All the conversions are in JavaScript and happen on your browser. The information is not transmitted to any server. These are basic encryption and they are not secure. The old version of Cryptii is no longer in use.

Currently, the app focusses on historic encryption or encoding methods (which are not considered secure by today’s standards) because modern cryptography methods would need to run server-side. With modern web technology, this is no longer true. I will add more modern cryptography methods in the future.

Cryptii features and benefits

The Cryptii platform is a good place to get started on coding or encrypting. It is easy to navigate and play around with texts.

The hash encrypting is similar to that utilized by the blockchain technology and if you aspiring to become a developer in the industry, the application is a good base.

Hashing is definitely one building block of blockchain technology but the main part is public-private-key encryption which is not featured right now in the app. Comparing hashing to blockchain technology is a bit overzealous.

The ‘sharing feature’ is still in the works but has not been published, yet. What you can share, though, are secrets hidden in ciphertext, together with the settings if the other side should be able to read it.

How safe and secure is Cryptii?

 The website is as secure as it can get to make sure nobody is injecting malicious scripts during transport. Nevertheless, it can only be as secure as the browser (e.g. third-party extensions may leak information). This issue is further discussed here: https://tonyarcieri.com/whats-wrong-with-webcrypto

Customer support

 To discuss new features or file bugs you can refer to the issue board on GitHub also linked in the app. You can always contact the developer via hello@cryptii.com. To discuss new features or file bugs you can refer to the issue board on GitHub also linked in the app.

Cryptii pros and cons

Pros

Cryptii is a good platform where users can encrypt, encode, and convert text and binary content depending on their needs.

The platform interface is easy to master and has different options where texts can be converted into numeric, roman and alphabetical text in milliseconds. The latest version is slightly advanced and users require a support team to exploit its full potential.

Cons

The Cryptii App does not have a sharing button where users can engage with each other. Refer to the security information provided above.

Conclusion

Although the platform is easy to navigate and code or decode some text, it is not very safe. No malware has been reported on the App but it is better to stay safe and secure by not exposing any sensitive information on the platform.

Using Cryptii as a basic tool for manipulating ciphertext and spit it through several App options to generate a different cipher. The app does not aim to meet the needs of “the modern cryptographer’s demands”. It aims to educate non-tech people about encryption and the importance of it. In addition, it is a handy toolbox for developers.

Please refer to the comment in the user experience section explaining why this app focusses on historic methods. As with all crypto transactions, do your own due diligence.