C# 4.0 Unleashed

Generating Random Numbers

A fairly common task is to generate random numbers (for example, to create a random permutation of objects in a collection, to write a lottery application, to generate test input sequences). The System namespace contains a Random class that’s designed for this purpose, producing what’s known as a pseudo-random sequence.

Security, Security, Security

It can’t be emphasized enough that the Random class is not well suited for use in a security-critical context (for example, to provide cryptographic strength random numbers) in part due to its pseudo-random (and hence predictable) nature.

For such uses, the System.Security.Cryptography namespace should be put into action, with its RandomNumberGenerator base class and derive ...