It can be called from both user-mode applications and kernel-mode drivers.
As a native Windows library, it is often preferred for applications requiring Microsoft-validated cryptographic standards. Alternatives for Other Environments bcrypt.lib download
Because it is a native Windows library, it is bundled with the installed alongside Visual Studio. You can typically find it in the following directory: It can be called from both user-mode applications
C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Lib\[SDK_VERSION]\um\[ARCHITECTURE]\bcrypt.lib How to Link bcrypt.lib in Visual Studio bcrypt.lib download
The Windows bcrypt.lib (CNG) is a general cryptographic library for various tasks like random number generation and encryption. If your goal is specifically password hashing , the language-specific libraries listed above are often easier to implement as they handle salt generation and work factors automatically.