Question

I am currently looking for a “Windows 7 compatible” certification, and to get it, you need to implement code signing. Now I look for a cheap certificate, and I found some cheap alternatives to Verisign certificates in Stack Overflow question Cheapest Java code signing certificate? (not self-signed).

I found comments somewhere on the Internet that Microsoft only accepts certificates. Is this true, or can I go with the Comodo certificate?

Answer 1

It’s not obvious, but on that same site for the logo, there’s a link for getting a certificate at a significant discount. I seem to recall it was US$100 instead of US$500? And that’s from Verisign. I took a client of mine through it and getting the certificate was the easy part of the process 🙂

Update: this page http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ff718579.aspx makes it clearer:

Submissions for the Compatible with Windows 7 Software Logo Program will only be accepted through Winqual. To establish a Winqual account for your company (a prerequisite for creating user accounts), you must establish your company’s identity using a VeriSign Certificate. There are two VeriSign certificates supported by Winqual for creating company accounts…

Basically you must have a Verisign certificate of some kind, but it doesn’t need to be a code signing one. You can use a US$99 one just to prove you are you, and then buy your code signing one from anyone in the PDF you can download from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931125 (it appears to include Comodo). Or you can buy your code signing from Verisign and cover both bases. This is also where you can find the link to the US$99 first year offer.