OT: Security/Certificates/Publisher/What to do?

JohnFredC · Post by *JohnFredC » 2006-05-11, 21:19 UTC

In the past, I have build a variety of freeware utilities using Delphi 5 that complement the custom "for a fee" business database systems from which I make my living. The Delphi exe's have run fine on every one of my customer's machines... until XP SP2.

Now the "Open File - Security Warning" pops up whenever a user executes one of those utilities, saying the "publisher can't be identified". Indeed, even I get that warning on the NSIS-built install exe for my latest application. What a pain and bad public relations, too!

I do not have a Certificate and the costs for obtaining one from VeriSign et al seem exorbitant, considering the damn things expire so quickly.

My Question:

What are any of you doing about this problem? Have you all bought certificates? Is there a way just to run an EXE without MS interfering? Will I ever again be able to build and distribute exe programs that will just run for the conceivable future without paying for certification?

XPEHOPE3KA · Post by *XPEHOPE3KA » 2006-05-12, 05:04 UTC

There's certainly some windows registry tweak to disable this verification. I don't remember it for now. BTW, would it be a solution to you and users of your software?

poiuytr · Post by *poiuytr » 2006-05-12, 06:19 UTC

There is the Unblock button in properties dialog of the file. Your customers just have to turn it off to disable windows warning on every run.
Image: http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8576/clipboard024xl.png

JohnFredC · Post by *JohnFredC » 2006-05-12, 14:43 UTC

poiuytr wrote:There is the Unblock button in properties dialog of the file. Your customers just have to turn it off to disable windows warning on every run.
Image: http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8576/clipboard024xl.png

Hi poiuytr!

What version of Windows are you using? I have both NTFS and Fat32 disks in my XP Pro SP2 system and am signed on with administrator privileges. None of my file properties dialogs look like that image you posted!

poiuytr · Post by *poiuytr » 2006-05-13, 08:52 UTC

JohnFredC wrote:What version of Windows are you using? I have both NTFS and Fat32 disks in my XP Pro SP2 system and am signed on with administrator privileges. None of my file properties dialogs look like that image you posted!

This is WindowsXP Pro SP2, NTFS partition, logged as an administrator, the file was downloaded from internet and is not signed. It seems to me that the Unblock button appears not on every downloaded file.

Ok, I browse google a little and found this article. It is aimed to Outlook Express, but there is few words about blocking.

SP2 adds a new layer of protection in that it remembers the file you are trying to open was downloaded from the Restricted Zone (the default setting for Outlook Express) and so you are given one more warning.

JohnFredC · Post by *JohnFredC » 2006-05-13, 15:57 UTC

Well I solved my local problem. Will have to deal with my customer's problem next week.

In my example, my mapped drive S: points to C:\ on computer "JFC_Laptop" on my LAN. To solve my problem I had to explicitly trust S: itself by typing the mapped drive letter into the Trusted Sites list in Internet options. Even though my intranet security is set to low.

Could be I don't understand a damn thing about what happened. But something changed the trust for that mapping... and it wasn't I.

Coincidentally(?) an MS security update did occur the evening before I discovered the problem.