Path.GetRandomFileName

This C# method from System.IO generates random file names. We can use these to store data in a secret (or unique) way.

Random filename benefits

The filename does not conflict with other files. It will not be corrupted by other programs. We can write the file and expect it to be left alone.

First, there are many ways to generate random strings. You could develop a method that populates a char array using the Random class, and then returns a string based on those numbers.

using System;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        //
        // Write three random files.
        //
        WriteRandomFile();
        WriteRandomFile();
        WriteRandomFile();
    }

    static void WriteRandomFile()
    {
        //
        // Get random file name.
        //
        string fileName = Path.GetRandomFileName();
        //
        // Construct full path.
        //
        string outputPath = Path.Combine("C:\\", fileName);
        //
        // Write to screen and disk.
        //
        Console.WriteLine(fileName);
        File.WriteAllText(outputPath, "Random");
    }
}
m4adstid.dw2
mbhbtcen.5m1
1qtk3r5u.bka

Implementation

Internally, the Path.GetRandomFileName method gets random bytes from the cryptographic-quality random number generator RNGCryptoServiceProvider.

Summary

We generated random file names to store certain kinds of data. By using Path.GetRandomFileName, you can write to files that have secure random names.