VadimPR

A year ago I used Azure Trusted Signing to codesign FOSS software that I distribute for Windows. It was the cheapest way to give away free software on that platform.

A couple of months ago I needed to renew the certificate because it expired, and I ran into the same issue as the author here - verification failed, and they refused to accept any documentation I would give them. Very frustrating experience, especially since there no human support available at all, for a product I was willing to pay and use!

We ended up getting our certificate sourced from https://signpath.org and have been grateful to them ever since.

show comments
dns_snek

This is precisely why we can't allow platform-owners to be the arbiters of what software is allowed to run on our devices. Any software signing that is deemed to be crucial for ensuring grandma-safety needs to be delegated to independent third parties without perverse incentives.

This is what the Digital Markets Act is supposed to protect developers against. Have there been any news regarding EU's investigation into Apple? Last I remember they were still reviewing their signing & fee-collection scheme.

show comments
billziss

It is not just VeraCrypt that has been affected by this. There is a bunch of Windows driver developers that have been suddenly kicked out of the "Partner Center" without explanation.

https://community.osr.com/t/locked-out-of-microsoft-partner-...

romaniv

I still hope that one of these days people in general will realize that executable signing and SecureBoot are specifically designed for controlling what a normal person can run, rather than for anything resembling real security. The premises of either of those "mitigations" make absolutely no sense for personal computers.

show comments
Lihh27

heh the same company that controls your secure boot chain just killed the signing account for the tool that encrypts your disk

onehair

They should have also picked up that WireGuard Creator account also got his account terminated

show comments
saltamimi

I'm confused why they can't just generate their own signing key and deploy it alongside the installer.

Using arbiter platforms like this sounds like a great way to footgun yourself.

show comments
20k

There's a good reason everyone calls them microslop these days. The sooner we're all able to ditch this crappy company, the better - they're actively holding back the tech industry at this point

show comments
msla

With Windows, you get what you pay for.

In this case, that's an OS controlled by an unaccountable company that can take application software away from you.

Related: If you're the customer, you're the product.

show comments
shevy-java

Microsoft wants to control computers. This is why they came up with InsecureBoot - or ad-hoc eliminating accounts willy-nilly style. Microsoft kind of acts like Google here. It is also interesting that the US government is doing absolutely nothing against this despicable behaviour.

show comments