Microsoft has launched .Net Framework 4.7 this week, offering enhancements for Windows Forms, cryptography, and touch.

Included in the Windows 10 Creators Update and supported in Visual Studio 2017, version 4.7 enhances functionality available with Eliptic Curve Cryptography. ImportParameters(ECParameters) methods were added to the ECDsa and ECDiffieHellman classes to enable an object to represent an already established key. Also, an ExportParameters(bool) method was added for exporting the key using explicit curve parameters.

“The .Net Framework 4.7 also adds support for additional curves — including the Brainpool curve suite — and has added predefined definitions for ease of creation via the new ECDsa.Create(ECCurve) and ECDiffieHellman.Create(ECCurve) factory methods,” said Rich Lander, of Microsoft’s Common Language Runtime team. Systems libraries provide this functionality; some features only work with Windows 10.

For security upgrades, the Transport Layer Security (TLS) version now matches Windows, and users can sign ClickOnce manifest files with a hardware security module in the Manifest Generation and Editing Tool. “HSMs make certificate management more secure and easier, since both the certificate and signing occur within secure hardware,” said Lander. ClickOnce also can now detect if the ClickOnce application store has been corrupted and automatically attempt to perform cleanup and re-install broken applications. The new version also features more reliable SQL Azure database connections, and TCP has become the default connection protocol.