Sign Your Windows Mobile Application

Code signing your application follows development best practices, and helps to ensure that your applications will install and run with the right privileges — without limited features or functionality. And helps end-users determine trusted code from potentially questionable code. Code signing is available for Windows Mobile 6.0, 6.1 and 6.5.

Note:

• A VeriSign Windows Mobile publisher certificate is not transferrable to Windows Marketplace for Mobile and vice versa.
• Passing Microsoft sponsored application testing is no longer required in order to request privileged mode code signing.

Introduction

Why code sign an application?

• Mobile operators worldwide require applications to be code signed so they can be distributed through their distribution channels.
• Application code signing is a standard practice on a variety of operating systems, including Windows Mobile, Windows Server and Windows Client.
• Help avoid user confusion and potentially costly product returns or technical support issues when a user attempts to install or run an application that has not been appropriately signed.
• Signing helps assure that your application is authentic by associating it with a developer or independent software vendor (ISV) whose identity is confirmed.
• Code signing also helps improve user trust through a system of checks and balances that enables the certificates for malicious code to be revoked.
• A warning is presented to users when an application is not signed or when an application has limited rights and attempts to access more protected areas of the operating system. This creates an undesirable user experience and users have the choice to cancel application installation or cancel the application at runtime.

How do you code sign an application?

• Use the sample certificates in the Windows Mobile 6 SDK for internal development and to test the results of normal-mode or privileged-mode sign code.
• Follow these steps to sign code.

Security

Security Model

Code signing also controls access to sensitive APIs and registry locations.

Which certificate model do you need?

• Review the list of privileged or normal mode APIs.
• Review the protected registry keys.

Pricing

How much does it cost?

• The initial cost is US $350, which includes ten signing events. Authenticode signatures for other Windows platforms, such as Windows Client or Windows Server, use a different technology than Windows Mobile code signing and are not recognized as valid normal or privileged mode signatures.
• A signing event includes signing all of the executables in a single .CAB file.
• Additional pricing information is available from VeriSign.

Privileged Mode Requests

VeriSign or GeoTrust Privileged Mode Requests

• Developers must complete the Privileged Mode On-Line Request Form, which is available once you have a VeriSign account, and log on to the VeriSign ACS portal. Completion of the On-Line Request Form does not guarantee that a privileged mode code-signing certificate will be granted.
• Reference the Code Signing Overview.

VeriSign and GeoTrust Step-by-Step Guide

• First, register with VeriSign or GeoTrust, obtain a Publisher ID, and access your account. Then, click the “Resource Center” tab and the “Product Documentation” link.
• From there, you can download the “Code Signing Portal for Publisher Administrator Guide” which will provide step-by-step directions for accomplishing tasks.