Encrypt and Decrypt of Connection string in Web.config file

This article explains encryption and decryption of Connection String section of the Web.Config file using aspnet_regiis.exe Command Line Utility of the Visual Studio.

The Plain Connection Strings section in the Web.Config file

The below screenshot shows the Plain Connection Strings section in the Web.Config file before encryption.

Encrypting the Connection Strings section in Web.Config file

You need to follow the following steps for encrypting the Connection Strings section in the Web.Config file

1. Open Visual Studio Command Prompt 

You will need to open the Visual Studio Command Prompt from the Start Menu => Programs => Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 => Visual Studio Tools => Visual Studio Command Prompt.

Note: You must be log in as Administrator and right click Visual Studio Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.

Note: In this tutorial, I am explaining the process using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. The same process will be applicable for the other versions. The only difference will be that you need to open Visual Studio Command Prompt from the folder of the respective version of Visual Studio installed on your machine.

2. Encrypting the Connection Strings section in Web.Config using aspnet_regiis.exe tool
In order to encrypt the ConnectionString section in the Web.Config file, we will need to use the aspnet_regiis.exe tool.

Parameters

Action – It notifies the action to be performed. In order to perform Encryption, the parameter value is -pef.

Section Name – The name of the section of the Web.Config file to be encrypted. For this case, the value will be connectionStrings.

Path of the folder – Here we need to specify the path of the folder containing the Web.Config file.

Syntax

aspnet_regiis.exe -pef "connectionStrings" "<Path of the Folder containing the Web.Config file>"

Example

aspnet_regiis.exe -pef "connectionStrings" "D:\Sai\Projects\MyTestWebsite"

Note: The above command will encrypt all the Connection Strings present in the ConnectionStrings section of the Web.Config file.

Encrypted Connection Strings section in the Web.Config file
You can see Encrypted Connection Strings section in the Web.Config file after encryption.

Accessing the Encrypted Connection String value in ASP.Net Code behind
ASP.Net will automatically decrypt the Connection String when it is fetched in the code behind and hence in code behind you need to access the Connection String in the same way as you would do normally.

Decrypting the Connection Strings section in Web.Config using aspnet_regiis.exe tool 
In order to decrypt the ConnectionString section in the Web.Config file, we will need to use the same aspnet_regiis.exe tool that was used for encryption.

Parameters

Action – It notifies the action to be performed. In order to perform Decryption, the parameter value is -pdf.

Section Name – The name of the section of the Web.Config file to be decrypted. For this case the value will be connectionStrings.

Path of the folder – Here we need to specify the path of the folder containing the Web.Config file.

Syntax

aspnet_regiis.exe -pdf "connectionStrings" "<Path of the Folder containing the Web.Config file>"

Example

aspnet_regiis.exe -pdf "connectionStrings" "D:\Sai\Projects\MyTestWebsite"

Note: The above command will decrypt all the Connection Strings present in the ConnectionStrings section of the Web.Config file.

Task vs Thread differences in C#

When we execute things on multiple threads, it’s not guaranteed that the threads are separated across multiple processors.

Task is a lightweight object for managing a parallelizable unit of work. It can be used whenever you want to execute something in parallel. Parallel means the work is spread across multiple processors to maximize computational speed. Tasks are tuned for leveraging multicores processors.

Task provides following powerful features over thread.

1. If system has multiple tasks then it make use of the CLR thread pool internally, and so do not have the overhead associated with creating a dedicated thread using the Thread. Also reduce the context switching time among multiple threads.
2. Task can return a result. There is no direct mechanism to return the result from thread.
3. Wait on a set of tasks, without a signaling construct.
4. We can chain tasks together to execute one after the other.
5. Establish a parent/child relationship when one task is started from another task.
6. Child task exception can propagate to parent task.
7. Task support cancellation through the use of cancellation tokens.
8. Asynchronous implementation is easy in task, using’ async’ and ‘await’ keywords.

Auto Timer in c#

        DispatcherTimer AutoSaveTimer; 

        TimeSpan auto_save_increment = new TimeSpan(0, 0, 10);  // time in between saves.

       

         {  //  AutoSaveTimer setup

            AutoSaveTimer = new System.Windows.Threading.DispatcherTimer();

            AutoSaveTimer.Tick += new EventHandler(AutoSaverTimer_Tick);

            AutoSaveTimer.Interval = auto_save_increment;

            AutoSaveTimer.Start();

        }

        // Method to perform autosave work

        private void AutoSaverTimer_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)

        {            

           

        }