All of us are aware of the fact that code signing is a popular developer security tool that ensures that the code is not tampered with or altered by a cyber attacker to gain unauthorized access to all the data associated with the signed software, driver, script, EXE, or application. Also, among the various categories of code signing certificates available, Extended Validation (EV) Code Signing Certificates are known to be a highly trusted and powerful tool, ensuring the strongest code security, boosting instant developer reputation, and eliminating "SmartScreen" and other system warnings for users, enabling faster downloads for software and apps.
Likewise for software, system drivers like Windows kernel drivers and device drivers also pose a threat of being accessible by unauthorized users like malware developers to gain access to Windows kernel resources. Thus, it's always a good practice to code sign your Windows device drivers using an EV Code Signing Certificate, enabling software authenticity and integrity verification.
Also, by signing a driver package with a code signing certificate, Windows can confirm that the package has not been modified since its signing. This measure safeguards users’ systems and codes against potential malware security threats.
How to Sign Windows Device Drivers using an EV Code Signing Certificate?
Step 1: Obtain an EV Code Signing Certificate from a trusted and reputed code signing solution provider.
Step 2: Once you have acquired your EV code signing certificate, generate the code signing certificate using the private key issued to you that ensures that the certificate chain is trusted.
Step 3: After successfully completing "Step 2," you will be able to sign your driver packages using the generated code signing certificate, like signing using the "signtool.exe" utility with the Windows SDK.
Step 4: Once you are done signing driver packages, the last step involves you distributing signed drivers through the Microsoft Windows Hardware Developer Center Dashboard (HDC) or any public download site, enabling your users to download and install your driver packages smoothly without any system warnings. If any errors or warnings persist, then there is a higher possibility of the driver being unsigned or the signature not being trusted.
Code signing your Windows device drivers using an EV code Signing Certificates ensures your driver packages are enabled with the strongest security, reducing the vulnerability to malware threats.
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