diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/AuthenticationMethod.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/AuthenticationMethod.cs
index 81818028..631ea5cb 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/AuthenticationMethod.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/AuthenticationMethod.cs
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets list of allowed authentications.
         /// </summary>
-        public IEnumerable<string> AllowedAuthentications { get; protected set; }
+        public IList<string> AllowedAuthentications { get; protected set; }
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref="AuthenticationMethod"/> class.
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/CipherInfo.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/CipherInfo.cs
index 9d06dc0c..1e890dfe 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/CipherInfo.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/CipherInfo.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 using System;
-using System.Linq;
+using Renci.SshNet.Common;
 using Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography;
 
 namespace Renci.SshNet
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
         public CipherInfo(int keySize, Func<byte[], byte[], Cipher> cipher)
         {
             KeySize = keySize;
-            Cipher = (key, iv) => (cipher(key.Take(KeySize / 8).ToArray(), iv));
+            Cipher = (key, iv) => (cipher(key.Take(KeySize / 8), iv));
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/ClientAuthentication.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/ClientAuthentication.cs
index 38ba0a7b..06bdcb19 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/ClientAuthentication.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/ClientAuthentication.cs
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
                 var authenticated = noneAuthenticationMethod.Authenticate(session);
                 if (authenticated != AuthenticationResult.Success)
                 {
-                    if (!TryAuthenticate(session, new AuthenticationState(connectionInfo.AuthenticationMethods.ToList()), noneAuthenticationMethod.AllowedAuthentications.ToList(), ref authenticationException))
+                    if (!TryAuthenticate(session, new AuthenticationState(connectionInfo.AuthenticationMethods), noneAuthenticationMethod.AllowedAuthentications.ToList(), ref authenticationException))
                     {
                         throw authenticationException;
                     }
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
                                      ICollection<string> allowedAuthenticationMethods,
                                      ref SshAuthenticationException authenticationException)
         {
-            if (!allowedAuthenticationMethods.Any())
+            if (allowedAuthenticationMethods.Count == 0)
             {
                 authenticationException = new SshAuthenticationException("No authentication methods defined on SSH server.");
                 return false;
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
             // passed in the ctor, not the order in which the SSH server returns
             // the allowed authentication methods
             var matchingAuthenticationMethods = authenticationState.SupportedAuthenticationMethods.Where(a => allowedAuthenticationMethods.Contains(a.Name)).ToList();
-            if (!matchingAuthenticationMethods.Any())
+            if (matchingAuthenticationMethods.Count == 0)
             {
                 authenticationException = new SshAuthenticationException(string.Format("No suitable authentication method found to complete authentication ({0}).", string.Join(",", allowedAuthenticationMethods.ToArray())));
                 return false;
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
                 switch (authenticationResult)
                 {
                     case AuthenticationResult.PartialSuccess:
-                        if (TryAuthenticate(session, authenticationState, authenticationMethod.AllowedAuthentications.ToList(), ref authenticationException))
+                        if (TryAuthenticate(session, authenticationState, authenticationMethod.AllowedAuthentications, ref authenticationException))
                         {
                             authenticationResult = AuthenticationResult.Success;
                         }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Common/DerData.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Common/DerData.cs
index 934c6196..5df74dba 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Common/DerData.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Common/DerData.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
-using System.Linq;
 
 namespace Renci.SshNet.Common
 {
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Common/Extensions.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Common/Extensions.cs
index 7d0f3b3e..9bbb956e 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Common/Extensions.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Common/Extensions.cs
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Common
         /// A <see cref="byte"/> array that contains the specified number of bytes at the specified offset
         /// of the input array.
         /// </returns>
-        internal static byte[] Take(this byte[] value, int offset, int count)
+        public static byte[] Take(this byte[] value, int offset, int count)
         {
             if (value == null)
                 throw new ArgumentNullException("value");
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Common
             return taken;
         }
 
-        internal static byte[] Take(this byte[] value, int count)
+        public static byte[] Take(this byte[] value, int count)
         {
             if (value == null)
                 throw new ArgumentNullException("value");
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/ConnectionInfo.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/ConnectionInfo.cs
index 0691179b..ba2fc666 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/ConnectionInfo.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/ConnectionInfo.cs
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets supported authentication methods for this connection.
         /// </summary>
-        public IEnumerable<AuthenticationMethod> AuthenticationMethods { get; private set; }
+        public IList<AuthenticationMethod> AuthenticationMethods { get; private set; }
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets supported compression algorithms for this connection.
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
 
             if (authenticationMethods == null)
                 throw new ArgumentNullException("authenticationMethods");
-            if (!authenticationMethods.Any())
+            if (authenticationMethods.Length == 0)
                 throw new ArgumentException("At least one authentication method should be specified.", "authenticationMethods");
 
             //  Set default connection values
@@ -437,9 +437,9 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
             return new NoneAuthenticationMethod(Username);
         }
 
-        IEnumerable<IAuthenticationMethod> IConnectionInfoInternal.AuthenticationMethods
+        IList<IAuthenticationMethod> IConnectionInfoInternal.AuthenticationMethods
         {
-            get { return AuthenticationMethods.Cast<IAuthenticationMethod>(); }
+            get { return AuthenticationMethods.Cast<IAuthenticationMethod>().ToList(); }
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/HashInfo.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/HashInfo.cs
index 05923a81..6ffbaeb1 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/HashInfo.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/HashInfo.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 using System;
-using System.Linq;
 using System.Security.Cryptography;
+using Renci.SshNet.Common;
 
 namespace Renci.SshNet
 {
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
         public HashInfo(int keySize, Func<byte[], HashAlgorithm> hash)
         {
             KeySize = keySize;
-            HashAlgorithm = key => (hash(key.Take(KeySize / 8).ToArray()));
+            HashAlgorithm = key => (hash(key.Take(KeySize / 8)));
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/IAuthenticationMethod.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/IAuthenticationMethod.cs
index 777e4dee..0ffdb0fe 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/IAuthenticationMethod.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/IAuthenticationMethod.cs
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
         /// <value>
         /// The list of allowed authentications.
         /// </value>
-        IEnumerable<string> AllowedAuthentications { get; }
+        IList<string> AllowedAuthentications { get; }
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets the name of the authentication method.
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/IConnectionInfo.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/IConnectionInfo.cs
index 2922df66..98409c09 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/IConnectionInfo.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/IConnectionInfo.cs
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
         /// <value>
         /// The supported authentication methods for this connection.
         /// </value>
-        IEnumerable<IAuthenticationMethod> AuthenticationMethods { get; }
+        IList<IAuthenticationMethod> AuthenticationMethods { get; }
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Creates a <see cref="NoneAuthenticationMethod"/> for the credentials represented
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/KeyboardInteractiveAuthenticationMethod.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/KeyboardInteractiveAuthenticationMethod.cs
index 591111bf..7615c9f3 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/KeyboardInteractiveAuthenticationMethod.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/KeyboardInteractiveAuthenticationMethod.cs
@@ -91,8 +91,8 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
             else
                 _authenticationResult = AuthenticationResult.Failure;
 
-            //  Copy allowed authentication methods
-            AllowedAuthentications = e.Message.AllowedAuthentications.ToList();
+            // Copy allowed authentication methods
+            AllowedAuthentications = e.Message.AllowedAuthentications;
 
             _authenticationCompleted.Set();
         }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Messages/Authentication/RequestMessageKeyboardInteractive.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Messages/Authentication/RequestMessageKeyboardInteractive.cs
index 1f7c2f61..8736ab54 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Messages/Authentication/RequestMessageKeyboardInteractive.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Messages/Authentication/RequestMessageKeyboardInteractive.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-namespace Renci.SshNet.Messages.Authentication
+using Renci.SshNet.Common;
+
+namespace Renci.SshNet.Messages.Authentication
 {
     /// <summary>
     /// Represents "keyboard-interactive" SSH_MSG_USERAUTH_REQUEST message.
@@ -42,8 +44,8 @@
         public RequestMessageKeyboardInteractive(ServiceName serviceName, string username)
             : base(serviceName, username, "keyboard-interactive")
         {
-            Language = new byte[0];
-            SubMethods = new byte[0];
+            Language = Array<byte>.Empty;
+            SubMethods = Array<byte>.Empty;
         }
 
         /// <summary>
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Messages/Transport/IgnoreMessage.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Messages/Transport/IgnoreMessage.cs
index 0d364106..39bb223d 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Messages/Transport/IgnoreMessage.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Messages/Transport/IgnoreMessage.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 using System;
+using Renci.SshNet.Common;
 
 namespace Renci.SshNet.Messages.Transport
 {
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Messages.Transport
         /// </summary>
         public IgnoreMessage()
         {
-            Data = new byte[0];
+            Data = Array<byte>.Empty;
         }
 
         /// <summary>
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/NoneAuthenticationMethod.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/NoneAuthenticationMethod.cs
index d96f6521..e7f8267c 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/NoneAuthenticationMethod.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/NoneAuthenticationMethod.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 using System;
-using System.Linq;
 using System.Threading;
 using Renci.SshNet.Messages.Authentication;
 using Renci.SshNet.Messages;
@@ -76,8 +75,8 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
             else
                 _authenticationResult = AuthenticationResult.Failure;
 
-            //  Copy allowed authentication methods
-            AllowedAuthentications = e.Message.AllowedAuthentications.ToList();
+            // Copy allowed authentication methods
+            AllowedAuthentications = e.Message.AllowedAuthentications;
 
             _authenticationCompleted.Set();
         }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/PasswordAuthenticationMethod.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/PasswordAuthenticationMethod.cs
index 252cf784..0ed626ef 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/PasswordAuthenticationMethod.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/PasswordAuthenticationMethod.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 using System;
-using System.Linq;
 using System.Text;
 using System.Threading;
 using Renci.SshNet.Abstractions;
@@ -116,7 +115,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
                 _authenticationResult = AuthenticationResult.Failure;
 
             //  Copy allowed authentication methods
-            AllowedAuthentications = e.Message.AllowedAuthentications.ToList();
+            AllowedAuthentications = e.Message.AllowedAuthentications;
 
             _authenticationCompleted.Set();
         }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/PrivateKeyAuthenticationMethod.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/PrivateKeyAuthenticationMethod.cs
index b8cb46b1..4847c929 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/PrivateKeyAuthenticationMethod.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/PrivateKeyAuthenticationMethod.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
-using System.Linq;
 using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
 using Renci.SshNet.Messages.Authentication;
 using Renci.SshNet.Messages;
@@ -127,7 +126,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
                 _authenticationResult = AuthenticationResult.Failure;
 
             //  Copy allowed authentication methods
-            AllowedAuthentications = e.Message.AllowedAuthentications.ToList();
+            AllowedAuthentications = e.Message.AllowedAuthentications;
 
             _authenticationCompleted.Set();
         }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/PrivateKeyFile.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/PrivateKeyFile.cs
index eb70705c..9e12164d 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/PrivateKeyFile.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/PrivateKeyFile.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 using System;
-using System.Linq;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.IO;
 using System.Text;
@@ -191,11 +190,11 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
             switch (keyName)
             {
                 case "RSA":
-                    _key = new RsaKey(decryptedData.ToArray());
+                    _key = new RsaKey(decryptedData);
                     HostKey = new KeyHostAlgorithm("ssh-rsa", _key);
                     break;
                 case "DSA":
-                    _key = new DsaKey(decryptedData.ToArray());
+                    _key = new DsaKey(decryptedData);
                     HostKey = new KeyHostAlgorithm("ssh-dss", _key);
                     break;
                 case "SSH2 ENCRYPTED":
@@ -288,13 +287,13 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
 
                 while (cipherKey.Count < length)
                 {
-                    hash = passwordBytes.Concat(hash).ToArray();
+                    hash = passwordBytes.Concat(hash);
                     hash = md5.ComputeHash(hash);
                     cipherKey.AddRange(hash);
                 }
             }
 
-            return cipherKey.Take(length).ToArray();
+            return cipherKey.ToArray().Take(length);
         }
 
         /// <summary>
@@ -325,14 +324,14 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
                 var passwordBytes = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(passPhrase);
 
                 //  Use 8 bytes binary salt
-                var initVector = passwordBytes.Concat(binarySalt.Take(8)).ToArray();
+                var initVector = passwordBytes.Concat(binarySalt.Take(8));
 
                 var hash = md5.ComputeHash(initVector);
                 cipherKey.AddRange(hash);
 
                 while (cipherKey.Count < cipherInfo.KeySize / 8)
                 {
-                    hash = hash.Concat(initVector).ToArray();
+                    hash = hash.Concat(initVector);
                     hash = md5.ComputeHash(hash);
                     cipherKey.AddRange(hash);
                 }
@@ -425,7 +424,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
                 var bytesArray = new byte[data.Length + 1];
                 Buffer.BlockCopy(data, 0, bytesArray, 1, data.Length);
 
-                return new BigInteger(bytesArray.Reverse().ToArray());
+                return new BigInteger(bytesArray.Reverse());
             }
 
             protected override void LoadData()
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/CipherDigitalSignature.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/CipherDigitalSignature.cs
index 88f6ddad..fae6537d 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/CipherDigitalSignature.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/CipherDigitalSignature.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 using System;
-using System.Linq;
 using Renci.SshNet.Common;
 
 namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
@@ -39,7 +38,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
             var encryptedSignature = _cipher.Decrypt(signature);
             var hashData = Hash(input);
             var expected = DerEncode(hashData);
-            return expected.SequenceEqual(encryptedSignature);
+            return expected.IsEqualTo(encryptedSignature);
         }
 
         /// <summary>
@@ -57,7 +56,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
             //  Calculate DER string
             var derEncodedHash = DerEncode(hashData);
 
-            return _cipher.Encrypt(derEncodedHash).TrimLeadingZero().ToArray();
+            return _cipher.Encrypt(derEncodedHash).TrimLeadingZeros();
         }
 
         /// <summary>
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/Ciphers/CipherMode.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/Ciphers/CipherMode.cs
index 7fda5edc..7489456f 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/Ciphers/CipherMode.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/Ciphers/CipherMode.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-using System.Linq;
+using Renci.SshNet.Common;
 
 namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography.Ciphers
 {
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography.Ciphers
         {
             Cipher = cipher;
             _blockSize = cipher.BlockSize;
-            IV = IV.Take(_blockSize).ToArray();
+            IV = IV.Take(_blockSize);
         }
 
         /// <summary>
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/DsaDigitalSignature.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/DsaDigitalSignature.cs
index 480a3238..3a902cf7 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/DsaDigitalSignature.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/DsaDigitalSignature.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 using System;
-using System.Linq;
 using System.Security.Cryptography;
 using Renci.SshNet.Common;
 
@@ -42,7 +41,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
         {
             var hashInput = _hash.ComputeHash(input);
 
-            var hm = new BigInteger(hashInput.Reverse().Concat(new byte[] { 0 }).ToArray());
+            var hm = new BigInteger(hashInput.Reverse().Concat(new byte[] { 0 }));
 
             if (signature.Length != 40)
                 throw new InvalidOperationException("Invalid signature.");
@@ -98,7 +97,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
         {
             var hashInput = _hash.ComputeHash(input);
 
-            var m = new BigInteger(hashInput.Reverse().Concat(new byte[] { 0 }).ToArray());
+            var m = new BigInteger(hashInput.Reverse().Concat(new byte[] { 0 }));
 
             BigInteger s;
             BigInteger r;
@@ -139,11 +138,11 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
             var signature = new byte[40];
 
             // issue #1918: pad part with zero's on the left if length is less than 20
-            var rBytes = r.ToByteArray().Reverse().TrimLeadingZero().ToArray();
+            var rBytes = r.ToByteArray().Reverse().TrimLeadingZeros();
             Array.Copy(rBytes, 0, signature, 20 - rBytes.Length, rBytes.Length);
 
             // issue #1918: pad part with zero's on the left if length is less than 20
-            var sBytes = s.ToByteArray().Reverse().TrimLeadingZero().ToArray();
+            var sBytes = s.ToByteArray().Reverse().TrimLeadingZeros();
             Array.Copy(sBytes, 0, signature, 40 - sBytes.Length, sBytes.Length);
 
             return signature;
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACMD5.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACMD5.cs
index d19c9df2..572ec152 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACMD5.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACMD5.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #if FEATURE_HMAC_MD5
 
-using System.Linq;
+using Renci.SshNet.Common;
 
 namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
 {
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
         protected override byte[] HashFinal()
         {
             var hash = base.HashFinal();
-            return hash.Take(HashSize / 8).ToArray();
+            return hash.Take(HashSize / 8);
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA1.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA1.cs
index a1642c19..6acb9c16 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA1.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA1.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #if FEATURE_HMAC_SHA1
 
-using System.Linq;
+using Renci.SshNet.Common;
 
 namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
 {
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
         protected override byte[] HashFinal()
         {
             var hash = base.HashFinal();
-            return hash.Take(HashSize / 8).ToArray();
+            return hash.Take(HashSize / 8);
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA256.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA256.cs
index 93d5b859..cc8a1375 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA256.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA256.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #if FEATURE_HMAC_SHA256
 
-using System.Linq;
+using Renci.SshNet.Common;
 
 namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
 {
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
         protected override byte[] HashFinal()
         {
             var hash = base.HashFinal();
-            return hash.Take(HashSize / 8).ToArray();
+            return hash.Take(HashSize / 8);
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA384.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA384.cs
index f73b0483..b63034dd 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA384.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA384.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #if FEATURE_HMAC_SHA384
 
-using System.Linq;
+using Renci.SshNet.Common;
 
 namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
 {
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
         protected override byte[] HashFinal()
         {
             var hash = base.HashFinal();
-            return hash.Take(HashSize / 8).ToArray();
+            return hash.Take(HashSize / 8);
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA512.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA512.cs
index f36be2a7..e60bdfa4 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA512.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/Cryptography/HMACSHA512.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #if FEATURE_HMAC_SHA512
 
-using System.Linq;
+using Renci.SshNet.Common;
 
 namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
 {
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography
         protected override byte[] HashFinal()
         {
             var hash = base.HashFinal();
-            return hash.Take(HashSize / 8).ToArray();
+            return hash.Take(HashSize / 8);
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/KeyExchangeDiffieHellmanGroup14Sha1.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/KeyExchangeDiffieHellmanGroup14Sha1.cs
index a64efbf5..384cef1a 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/KeyExchangeDiffieHellmanGroup14Sha1.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/KeyExchangeDiffieHellmanGroup14Sha1.cs
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security
             get
             {
                 BigInteger prime;
-                BigInteger.TryParse(SecondOkleyGroup, NumberStyles.AllowHexSpecifier, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, out prime);
+                BigInteger.TryParse(SecondOkleyGroup, NumberStyles.AllowHexSpecifier, NumberFormatInfo.CurrentInfo, out prime);
                 return prime;
             }
         }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/KeyExchangeDiffieHellmanGroup1Sha1.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/KeyExchangeDiffieHellmanGroup1Sha1.cs
index 25613a4e..b8df62c9 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/KeyExchangeDiffieHellmanGroup1Sha1.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/KeyExchangeDiffieHellmanGroup1Sha1.cs
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security
             get
             {
                 BigInteger prime;
-                BigInteger.TryParse(SecondOkleyGroup, NumberStyles.AllowHexSpecifier, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, out prime);
+                BigInteger.TryParse(SecondOkleyGroup, NumberStyles.AllowHexSpecifier, NumberFormatInfo.CurrentInfo, out prime);
                 return prime;
             }
         }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/KeyExchangeEllipticCurveDiffieHellman.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/KeyExchangeEllipticCurveDiffieHellman.cs
index 2c8db75d..68a5fdb0 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/KeyExchangeEllipticCurveDiffieHellman.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Security/KeyExchangeEllipticCurveDiffieHellman.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 using System;
-using System.Linq;
 using Renci.SshNet.Messages.Transport;
 using Renci.SshNet.Messages;
 using Renci.SshNet.Common;
@@ -85,8 +84,8 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security
         {
             base.Start(session, message);
 
-            _serverPayload = message.GetBytes().ToArray();
-            _clientPayload = Session.ClientInitMessage.GetBytes().ToArray();
+            _serverPayload = message.GetBytes();
+            _clientPayload = Session.ClientInitMessage.GetBytes();
 
             Session.RegisterMessage("SSH_MSG_KEXECDH_REPLY");
 
@@ -102,14 +101,14 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet.Security
             //3. Output (d,Q).
             
             BigInteger p;
-            BigInteger.TryParse("00FFFFFFFF00000001000000000000000000000000FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF", NumberStyles.AllowHexSpecifier, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, out p);
+            BigInteger.TryParse("00FFFFFFFF00000001000000000000000000000000FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF", NumberStyles.AllowHexSpecifier, NumberFormatInfo.CurrentInfo, out p);
 
 
 
             BigInteger n;
-            BigInteger.TryParse("00FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFC7634D81F4372DDF581A0DB248B0A77AECEC196ACCC52973", NumberStyles.AllowHexSpecifier, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, out n);
+            BigInteger.TryParse("00FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFC7634D81F4372DDF581A0DB248B0A77AECEC196ACCC52973", NumberStyles.AllowHexSpecifier, NumberFormatInfo.CurrentInfo, out n);
             BigInteger G;
-            BigInteger.TryParse("00036B17D1F2E12C4247F8BCE6E563A440F277037D812DEB33A0F4A13945D898C296", NumberStyles.AllowHexSpecifier, CultureInfo.CurrentCulture, out G);
+            BigInteger.TryParse("00036B17D1F2E12C4247F8BCE6E563A440F277037D812DEB33A0F4A13945D898C296", NumberStyles.AllowHexSpecifier, NumberFormatInfo.CurrentInfo, out G);
 
             BigInteger d;
 
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/Session.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/Session.cs
index 55a702e7..62591a58 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/Session.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/Session.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
-using System.Linq;
 using System.Net;
 using System.Net.Sockets;
 using System.Security.Cryptography;
@@ -16,6 +15,7 @@ using Renci.SshNet.Messages.Connection;
 using Renci.SshNet.Messages.Transport;
 using Renci.SshNet.Security;
 using System.Globalization;
+using System.Linq;
 using Renci.SshNet.Abstractions;
 using Renci.SshNet.Security.Cryptography;
 
@@ -954,7 +954,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
                 if (serverHash != null)
                 {
                     Buffer.BlockCopy(nextBlocks, nextBlocks.Length - serverHash.Length, serverHash, 0, serverHash.Length);
-                    nextBlocks = nextBlocks.Take(nextBlocks.Length - serverHash.Length).ToArray();
+                    nextBlocks = nextBlocks.Take(nextBlocks.Length - serverHash.Length);
                 }
 
                 if (nextBlocks.Length > 0)
@@ -978,7 +978,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
             {
                 var clientHash = _serverMac.ComputeHash(data);
 
-                if (!serverHash.SequenceEqual(clientHash))
+                if (!serverHash.IsEqualTo(clientHash))
                 {
                     throw new SshConnectionException("MAC error", DisconnectReason.MacError);
                 }
diff --git a/src/Renci.SshNet/ShellStream.cs b/src/Renci.SshNet/ShellStream.cs
index 511a0d84..502a411e 100644
--- a/src/Renci.SshNet/ShellStream.cs
+++ b/src/Renci.SshNet/ShellStream.cs
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
-using System.Linq;
 using System.Text;
 using System.IO;
 using Renci.SshNet.Channels;
@@ -225,7 +224,7 @@ namespace Renci.SshNet
         /// <exception cref="T:System.ObjectDisposedException">Methods were called after the stream was closed.</exception>
         public override void Write(byte[] buffer, int offset, int count)
         {
-            foreach (var b in buffer.Skip(offset).Take(count).ToArray())
+            foreach (var b in buffer.Take(offset, count))
             {
                 if (_outgoing.Count < BufferSize)
                 {