How Can I Store Program Settings?

Question

I am creating a desktop app that will sit on a PC and occasionally check a web server for updates to various settings.

The program will be using these settings frequently so I would like cache the settings in a file on the PC so it doesn't have to hit the server constantly. There are a lot of settings. I was thinking about storing them in an XML file but I need the file to be unreadable by the PC users.

How should I store the settings on the PC that the program can read and write to but the user cannot read?

EDIT: Sorry guys. The application is being written in C# using .NET 2.0. The application will only run on Windows. It is a console app that will run as a Windows Service.

Answer 1

Assuming that you are targeting the Windows platform, you can either

• use the registry
• use a configuration file
• or use a database

Data can be encrypted in all 3 cases if needed. If you really have lots of settings, the registry is probably not the easiest way to do this. If you have a .net app, look at SQL Server Compact Edition, it is really light-weight, easy to deploy with your app, and does not need a runtime environment.

Answer 2

If the app is a service then it can run under an account that isn't the user's; then it's easy enough to keep the file hidden from him.

As a Windows app, you have your choice of the Registry or a file or a local database. For files, your choice of a simple properties file or an XML file.

For any of those, your choice of encrypted (just in case) or not.