A bit of fun

The following “encrypted” text uses well known methods to obscure the data, my challenge to you is to decrypt the text. Comments will only appear if you have successfully left the correct answer. So see if you can be the first….

38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 55 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 50 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 51 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 51 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 50 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 51 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 50 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 55 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 51 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 51 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 55 59

29 Responses to “A bit of fun”

  1. The-Wildcat writes:

    **Well done The-Wildcat!**

    I’ve edited your comment so not spoil it for anyone else

  2. Gareth Heyes writes:

    The Wildcat was quick!!!!

    thorin you’re nearly right, I just need the plain text

  3. Adam Backstrom writes:

    **Well done Adam!**

    Edited.

  4. Gerardo Chaves writes:

    ** EDITED ***

    You are not the only one πŸ™

    I want more of this!!

    Thank you for the challenge

  5. Ardemue writes:

    ** EDITED ***

  6. Gareth Heyes writes:

    Well done all I’m impressed.

    I may do some more of these challenges and make them a bit harder πŸ™‚

  7. Skip Chris writes:

    **EDITED***

    and now I have sore fingers too! πŸ™‚

  8. Gareth Heyes writes:

    Nice one Chris πŸ™‚

  9. Ali Karbassi writes:

    **EDITED**

    Yes, mine does too now.

    That was fun.

  10. Gareth Heyes writes:

    Well done Ali πŸ™‚

  11. Ali Karbassi writes:

    I did it all in javascript, who knew?

  12. Gareth Heyes writes:

    Excellent Ali! That’s what I intended, I wanted to provide a challenge based on my posts. Stay tuned for the next one.

    How difficult or easy was the challenge? Should I make the next one a lot harder?

  13. Ali Karbassi writes:

    Well, it was pretty challenging. I don’t want to give it away, but the last part somewhat confused me. Also, I had to write a function of my own.

    I wrote about it here: See if it’s too much of a spoiler. If it is, remove it.

  14. The-Wildcat writes:

    Yeah, That was to easy πŸ˜€

  15. Skip Chris writes:

    A bit harder, but not as hard as, say the Slackers challenge πŸ™‚ — my main wasted time was hunting the PHP manuals for the exact function i needed . Will you be publishing a ‘perfect’ solution, as I think I went around the houses a bit to get there…

  16. Gareth Heyes writes:

    I did intend it to be just a quick bit of fun and it wasn’t really meant to be in the same league as the slackers challenge but if people enjoyed it then I might do a more interesting one πŸ™‚

    I’ll post my solution once everyone has finished trying, I don’t want to spoil it

  17. Jason M. writes:

    **EDITED**

  18. Gareth Heyes writes:

    Nice one Jason, glad you liked it πŸ™‚

  19. Maarten Spreij writes:

    Nice one πŸ™‚ More!

  20. thorin writes:

    BAH, I was going too quick yesterday, I didn’t notice the subtle differences in the original strings so I thought it was the same char over and over and over.

  21. Gareth Heyes writes:

    Nice one thorin I knew you’d get it πŸ™‚

  22. Thijs Lensselink writes:

    Didn’t see the post yesterday. So i gave it a try today.

    **EDITED**

  23. Gareth Heyes writes:

    @Thijs Lensselink

    Well done! πŸ™‚

  24. Kishor writes:

    **EDITED**

  25. Gareth Heyes writes:

    @Kishor

    Nice one mate πŸ™‚

  26. Alex@Net writes:

    My back hurts from all this sitting! πŸ™‚

    chr -> hexdec -> urldecode -> octdec!
    Nice! πŸ™‚

  27. Saul Pladen writes:

    You missed 4th base. …Though seem to have hit most of the rest.

    Completion results? 35:1.

  28. Gareth Heyes writes:

    My “official” solution πŸ™‚

    c = ’38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 55 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 50 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 51 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 51 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 50 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 51 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 50 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 55 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 51 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 48 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 51 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 51 54 59 38 35 120 50 53 59 38 35 120 51 53 59 38 35 120 52 51 59 38 35 120 51 49 59 38 35 120 51 52 59 38 35 120 51 55 59′;
    c=c.split(‘ ‘);d=”;
    for(i=0;i<c.length;i++)d+=String.fromCharCode(c[i]);
    c=d.replace(/&#x/g,”);
    c=c.split(‘;’);d=”;
    for(i=0;i<c.length;i++)d+=String.fromCharCode(parseInt(c[i],16));
    c=unescape(d).split(‘\\’);
    d=”;
    for(i=1;i<c.length;i++)d+=String.fromCharCode(parseInt(c[i],8));
    alert(d);

  29. Gareth Heyes writes:

    Here’s a video of Hackvertor (A conversion utility I wrote) solving the challenge:-

    http://www.thespanner.co.uk/2007/10/29/hackvertor-video-demo/