i agree that the why is complex. but threating it as "math is complex, so let's treat it as a religion and never question or try to understand. just accept." is

i agree that the why is complex. but threating it as "math is complex, so let's treat it as a religion and never question or try to understand. just accept." is just plain wrong. So, the first step should be to NOT start with the "Advanced" standard :) look for block cyphers. And if you found your self blocked on this little presentation during the non-sense (and not explained) column transformation step, this may help you: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:H0QmIsUIBbkJ:www.angelfire.com/biz7/atleast/mix_columns.pdf+understanding+rijndael&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShgB-L9wynpOjMTBcc0_5mchK2gvPdT2ZbA8Ma4ysjYlEUt4ae-eV__3LDljC2BWS4nHCw8tC9VKAqdl0l_hwRdHfbk45z1ZayEQcrv7aplKEHFElSS84xwliAbYB_mwkiqGSSM&sig=AHIEtbSCoL-cSBrG2WvXoNekeOArN_XIAg http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:H0QmIsUIBbkJ:w... Understanding AES Mix-Columns Transformation Calculation Kit Choy Xintong University of Wollongong,