🔐 Encode File Using PowerShell

Let’s learn how to Base64-encode a file in PowerShell, transfer it manually (like over SSH or copy-paste), and decode it on Linux.

🔐 Encode File Using PowerShell & Transfer via Base64

Sometimes, a classic copy-paste ✂️ method is all you need to transfer files — especially when network transfer is tricky! Let’s learn how to Base64-encode a file in PowerShell, transfer it manually (like over SSH or copy-paste), and decode it on Linux. 🧠💡

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💻 Step 1: Encode File with PowerShell

We’ll use PowerShell’s Get-Content and Convert classes to turn our file into a Base64 string.

PS C:\htb> [Convert]::ToBase64String((Get-Content -Path "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts" -Encoding Byte))

🧾 Output: You'll get a long Base64 string. Copy and paste it somewhere safe (like Notepad or your terminal window).

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🧪 Step 2: Confirm File Integrity with MD5

Let’s generate an MD5 hash to later confirm we’ve transferred the file correctly:

PS C:\htb> Get-FileHash "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts" -Algorithm MD5 | Select Hash

✅ Example output:

Hash
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3688374325B992DEF12793500307566D

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🐧 Step 3: Decode on Linux

On your Pwnbox or attack host, paste the Base64 string and decode it:

echo "<base64-string>" | base64 -d > hosts

📌 Replace <base64-string> with the long Base64 string you copied earlier.

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🔍 Step 4: Verify Integrity with md5sum

Let’s make sure it’s exactly the same file 🔍

md5sum hosts

✅ You should get:

3688374325b992def12793500307566d  hosts

Boom! 🎉 File successfully transferred and verified. No network shenanigans required!

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