Run managed code on secure desktop

Question

I am working on creating an application which must interact with the user on the secure desktop (i.e. locked computer screen), but does not specifically provide authentication. From my research, it seems that the only way to get code running on the secure desktop is to use the Credentials Provider API. However, you can only write a credential provider using native Win32 C++ code, there is no way to use managed .NET code. Does anybody know of a way to get .NET code running on the secure desktop? Would it be possible to call a .NET executable from a Win32 credential provider?

Answer 1

If your program uses the Credentials Provider API, then (by definition) it's providing authentication.

That being said, if you want to use your .NET code, your best option would be to run it as a service, and communicate with it via a named pipe or some other IPC mechanism.