SSL and Code Signing for the Micro ISV
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A year or two ago, trusted Micro ISV‘er Andy Brice posted an article entitled The Great Digital Certificate Ripoff? It’s well worth a read as it underlines some of the apparent anticompetitive aspects of this particular market.
I’m very happy to say that the ground is shifting – something interesting is happening. Internet Explorer is pretty much universally despised by tech-savvy users, but its sheer market slice means that only a fool would ignore it. As of now, Internet Explorer (and by extension, Windows) will have a new root certificate installed. The root certificate will be that of StartCom Ltd. Why is this important?
StartCom is the only public certification authority providing digital certificates for free!
The implications for security on Windows are profound. No longer will SSL and code signing certificates be expensive commodities for the little guy. Firefox and Apple have supported StartCom for some time, but thankfully us Windows developers can now get in on it.
The SLL certificates are free and provide:
- Web server certificates (SSL/TLS)
- Client and mail certificates (S/MIME)
- 128/256-bit encryption
- US $ 10,000 insurance guaranteed
- Valid 365 days (1 year)
The code signing certificates require a verified account, but still cost a measley $39, and boast:
- Web server certificates (SSL/TLS)
- Wild cards (*.domain.com)
- Multiple domains (DNS Alt Names)
- 128/256-bit encryption
- Object Code Signing (beta)
- Client and mail certificates (S/MIME)
- US $ 10,000 insurance guaranteed
- 2 Years validity (730 days)
Well done to StartCom, and well done to Microsoft. Check out the certificates on offer here.
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Thank you Tim!
I was dreading the purchase of a code certificate in the next few weeks, thinking ‘when will it ever stop’. It’s already hard to for a small misv to make ends meet without all these extra expenses! You just saved me over a hundred bucks, which is around the cost of the *next* least expensive place to get a code certificate.
Plus, an inexpensive place to get web site ssl certs to boot!
I am, though, a little curious of the (beta) for code certificates, and may have to inquire into what that’s all about.
Thank you Tim. I need to get code signing for my application, and this is definitely better for my pocket compared to Verisign, Thawte and similar.