Encoding Is Not Encryption

A frequent and costly mistake: treating encoding as protection. Base64, URL encoding and hex only change the format of data so it travels safely; they use no secret, and anyone can reverse them in one line. Seeing a string like cGFzc3dvcmQ= in a config file means the password is effectively in plain sight.

Idea	Purpose	Needs a key?	Reversible by anyone?
Encoding	Format data	No	Yes
Hashing	Fingerprint	No	No (one way)
Encryption	Secrecy	Yes	Only with the key

Examplepython

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Quick check

Is Base64 a way to keep a password secret?

No, anyone can decode itYes, it is encryptionOnly on websites

Your turn: write the code

Decode this Base64 value and print the text: c2VjdXJpdHkgaXMgZXZlcnlvbmUncyBqb2I=

Finish the quick check (and any code exercise) to complete this lesson, or mark it done yourself.

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