Strong Key is a naming convention used in

computer programming Computer programming or coding is the composition of sequences of instructions, called computer program, programs, that computers can follow to perform tasks. It involves designing and implementing algorithms, step-by-step specifications of proc ...

. There can be more than one component (e.g.: DLL) with the same naming, but with different versions. This can lead to many conflicts. A Strong Key (also called SN Key or Strong Name) is used in the

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

.NET Framework to uniquely identify a component. This is done partly with

Public-key cryptography Public-key cryptography, or asymmetric cryptography, is the field of cryptographic systems that use pairs of related keys. Each key pair consists of a public key and a corresponding private key. Key pairs are generated with cryptographic alg ...

. Strong keys or names provide security of reference from one component to another or from a root key to a component. This is not the same as

tamper resistance Tamperproofing is a methodology used to hinder, deter or detect unauthorised access to a device or circumvention of a security system. Since any device or system can be foiled by a person with sufficient knowledge, equipment, and time, the term " ...

of the file containing any given component.CodeProject: Building Security Awareness in .NET Assemblies : Part 3 - Learn to break Strong Name .NET Assemblies.
/ref> Strong names also are a countermeasure against dll hell. This key is produced by another computer program as a pair.

References

External links

CodeProject: Strong Names ExplainedMSDN: Strong-Named Assemblies
Programming constructs .NET terminology {{compu-prog-stub