I am directed to use this PurePerl routine which codes/decodes perfectly well: 
use Crypt::Rijndael_PP ':all';

 $key = "1234567890ABCDEF" x 4; # 256bit hex number
 
 $cipher = Crypt::Rijndael_PP->new( pack('H*', $key), MODE_CBC );
 
 $c_txt = $cipher->encrypt($data);
 $p_txt = $cipher->decrypt($c_txt);

    
print "--> encoded text = $c_txt\n";
print "--> decoded text = $p_txt\n";

[download]
but I can't store the encrypted data in a string. help please

In reply to usage of Crypt::Rijndael_PP by fionbarr

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.