Microsoft has announced a new version of the .NET Framework, and as expected it comes with new features and fixes. The .NET Framework 4.7.2 can be installed on Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 SP1 and the relative server versions. The new .NET Framework can be installed via the web installer or the offline installer.
.NET Framework 4.7.2 released
Let us take a closer look at all the new features it has to offer,
Core
The NET Framework 4.7.2 brings to the plate number of cryptographic enhancements. This also includes better decompression support for ZIP archives and additional collection APIs. Newly introduced DSA.Create and RSA.Create parameters will let you provide key parameters while initiating DSA or RSA key. Look at the replacement code below,
// Starting with .NET Framework 4.7.2
using (RSA rsa = RSA.Create(rsaParameters))
{
// Other code to execute using the rsa instance.
}
One can also create new DSA or RSA keys as follows,
using (DSA dsa = DSA.Create(2048))
{
// Other code to execute using the dsa instance.
}
Added Support for ephemeral keys
With the new .NET Framework in place, PFX imports can optionally load private keys directly from memory thus bypassing the hard drive.
When the new X509KeyStorageFlags.EphemeralKeySet flag is specified in an X509Certificate2constructor or one of the overloads of the X509Certificate2.Import method, the private keys will be loaded as ephemeral keys. By using this method, one can ensure that the keys are not visible on the disk.
New SignerInfo members
Beginning from the .NET Framework 4.7.2, the SignerInfo class will reveal added information about the signature.
One can also retrieve System.Security.Cryptography.Pkcs.SignerInfo.SignatureAlgorithm and determine the signature algorithm that is used by signer.
SignerInfo.GetSignature can also be called in order to get the cryptographic signature of the signer.
DeflateStream Decompression Changes
Beginning with the .NET Framework 4.7.2 the method of implementation of decompression operations in the DeflateStream has changed and now uses Windows API’s by default. This change is expected to help in achieving better performance. The .NET Framework 4.7.2 can opt for this behavior by adding the AppContext switch to the application configuration file.
<AppContextSwitchOverrides value="Switch.System.IO.Compression.DoNotUseNativeZipLibraryForDecompression=false" />
You can read more about it on microsoft.com.
