function _encodePassword($plaintext)
    {
        $password = 0x0000;
        $i        = 1;       // char position

        // split the plain text password in its component characters
        $chars = preg_split('//', $plaintext, -1, PREG_SPLIT_NO_EMPTY);
        foreach ($chars as $char) {
            $value        = ord($char) << $i;   // shifted ASCII value
            $rotated_bits = $value >> 15;       // rotated bits beyond bit 15
            $value       &= 0x7fff;             // first 15 bits
            $password    ^= ($value | $rotated_bits);
            $i++;
        }

        $password ^= strlen($plaintext);
        $password ^= 0xCE4B;

        return($password);
    }