Generating Keys for Encryption and Decryption

From http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/5e9ft273(VS.80).aspx :

".NET Framework Developer's Guide

Generating Keys for Encryption and Decryption

Creating and managing keys is an important part of the cryptographic process. Symmetric algorithms require the creation of a key and an initialization vector (IV) that must be kept secret from anyone who should not decrypt your data. Asymmetric algorithms require the creation of a public key and a private key. The public key can be made public to anyone, while the private key must known only by the party who will decrypt the data encrypted with the public key. This section describes how to generate and manage keys for both symmetric and asymmetric algorithms."