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ProtectedMemory Class

Provides methods for protecting and unprotecting memory. This class cannot be inherited.

System.Object
  System.Security.Cryptography.ProtectedMemory

Namespace:  System.Security.Cryptography
Assembly:  System.Security (in System.Security.dll)

'Declaration
<HostProtectionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, MayLeakOnAbort := True)> _
Public NotInheritable Class ProtectedMemory

The ProtectedMemory type exposes the following members.

  NameDescription
Public methodStatic memberProtectProtects the specified data.
Public methodStatic memberUnprotectUnprotects data in memory that was protected using the Protect method.
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This class provides access to the Data Protection API (DPAPI) available in the Windows XP and later operating systems. This is a service that is provided by the operating system and does not require additional libraries. It provides encryption for sensitive data in memory.

The class consists of two wrappers for the unmanaged DPAPI, Protect and Unprotect. These two methods can be used to encrypt and decrypt data in memory.

NoteNote

The HostProtectionAttribute attribute applied to this type or member has the following Resources property value: MayLeakOnAbort. The HostProtectionAttribute does not affect desktop applications (which are typically started by double-clicking an icon, typing a command, or entering a URL in a browser). For more information, see the HostProtectionAttribute class or SQL Server Programming and Host Protection Attributes.

TopicLocation
How to: Use Data Protection.NET Framework: Security
How to: Use Data Protection.NET Framework: Security

The following example shows how to use data protection.


Imports System
Imports System.Security.Cryptography



Public Class MemoryProtectionSample

    Public Shared Sub Main()
        ' Create the original data to be encrypted (The data length should be a multiple of 16).
        Dim secret As Byte() = {1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4}

        ' Encrypt the data in memory. The result is stored in the same same array as the original data.
        ProtectedMemory.Protect(secret, MemoryProtectionScope.SameLogon)

        ' Decrypt the data in memory and store in the original array.
        ProtectedMemory.Unprotect(secret, MemoryProtectionScope.SameLogon)

    End Sub
End Class


.NET Framework

Supported in: 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

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