Yikes! How can an API call be banned? Well, these functions from the C Runtime Library (CRT) will trigger warnings from the compiler in Visual C++ 2005 and beyond. I've blogged about this before, and linked to an older paper about it too. Now Michael Howard has an updated article that lists all the "banned" CRT calls and suggests what to use instead. He also clarifies the role of the StrSafe functions and compares them to the _s versions of the insecure CRT functions. Definitely recommended reading if you're maintaining an older code base and worry about it a little.

Kate