The data protection article's sample guidance was incomplete for modern .NET. Readers could resolve ProtectedData by adding the package, but the article didn't explain that requirement or that the ProtectedMemory portion remains .NET Framework-only.

• What changed

  • Added an upfront note that .NET on Windows requires the System.Security.Cryptography.ProtectedData NuGet package before you use ProtectedData or DataProtectionScope.
  • Expanded the compile guidance to distinguish modern .NET from .NET Framework.
  • Explicitly called out that ProtectedMemory and MemoryProtectionScope aren't supported on .NET, so the full sample doesn't compile there.

• Updated guidance

  • .NET Framework: use the article sample as written.
  • .NET: install System.Security.Cryptography.ProtectedData for the ProtectedData APIs, but don't expect the ProtectedMemory portion to compile.

• Example

  using System.Security.Cryptography;
  
  byte[] input = [1, 2, 3, 4];
  byte[] entropy = [5, 6, 7, 8];
  
  byte[] cipher = ProtectedData.Protect(input, entropy, DataProtectionScope.CurrentUser);
  byte[] plain = ProtectedData.Unprotect(cipher, entropy, DataProtectionScope.CurrentUser);

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