ProtectedMemory Class
Assembly: System.Security (in system.security.dll)
This class provides access to the Data Protection API (DPAPI) available in Microsoft 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.
| Topic | Location |
|---|---|
| How to: Use Data Protection | .NET Framework: Security |
| How to: Use Data Protection | .NET Framework: Security |
The following code example shows how to use data protection.
Imports System Imports System.Security.Cryptography Public Class MemoryProtectionSample ' Create aditional entropy for use with the Protect method. Private Shared s_aditionalEntropy As Byte() = {9, 8, 7, 6, 5} 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
import System.*;
import System.Security.Cryptography.*;
public class MemoryProtectionSample
{
// Create aditional entropy for use with the Protect method.
private static ubyte sAditionalEntropy[] = { 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 };
public static void main(String args[])
{
// Create the original data to be encrypted (The data length should
// be a multiple of 16).
ubyte secret[] = { 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);
} //main
} //MemoryProtectionSample