Cipher Classics is an extremely interesting free utility capable of encrypting and decrypting any text employing the good old codes of soldiers and secret agents used back then in the pre-digital era. Among the list of ciphers supported, you will find ADFGVX, Caesar Shift (a type of rotation cipher), Columnar Transposition, Playfair, Straddling Checkerboard, and Wheatstone Cryptograph.
What makes this tool so attractive - at least for those interested in old analog cipher methods - is the fact that it really "shows" you how to encrypt a text using these old-fashioned codes. Thus, Cipher Classics not only will do all the hard work for you, but it will also give you the opportunity of learning more about the history of all the ciphers supported and how to go about them just like in the good old days - with some paper, a pencil, and lots of patience.
You can enter or paste any amount of unformatted text into the program's main window. Then you can either select one of the encryption methods available or learn how to code the text yourself using your own hands. Depending on the cipher selected, you may be asked to enter some more information, necessary for Cipher Classics to perform its magic. Thus, you will need to enter a square key and a columnar key when encrypting text using the ADFGVX cipher, or a plaintext keyword, a ciphertext keyword, and a starting letter when using the Wheatstone Cryptograph method. If you are not familiar with any of these terms or with any of the codes, you can always rely on the program's highly-informative help pages to crack them. A caveat, though - take a clock with you, as this is the type of program that can hook you up for hours on end.
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