Strong Key is a naming convention used in computer programming. 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 .NET Framework to uniquely identify a component. This is done partly with Public-key cryptography. 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 of the file containing any given component. 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 Explained MSDN: Strong-Named Assemblies Programming constructs .NET terminology