diff --git a/padBuster.pl b/padBuster.pl
index d3977d2..b2dddd3 100644
--- a/padBuster.pl
+++ b/padBuster.pl
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@
 }
 
 # PlainTextBytes is where the complete decrypted sample will be stored (decrypt only)
-my $plainTextBytes;
+my $plainTextBytes = "";
 
 # This is a bool to make sure we know where to replace the sample string
 my $wasSampleFound = 0;