|
Customers trust software they buy in a store because they can tell who published the product and can see whether the package has been opened or not. The Internet cannot offer the reassurance provided by shrink-wrapped software. When customers download software from the Internet, the most they see is a message warning them about As a solution major software vendors such as Netscape and Microsoft have developed tools for code signing. Code signing allows a developer to sign his/her application digitally. On the strength of that signature, the browser or operating system then decides whether or not to trust the software. When customers download software signed with a thawte Code Signing Certificate, they can be assured of: Content source: The software really comes from the publisher who signed it. Content integrity: The software has not been altered or corrupted since it was signed. A thawte Code Signing Certificate goes a long way in establishing user confidence. Users have recourse to the publisher, should the software perform a malicious or unacceptable activity on their computers. This accountability and possibility of recourse serve as a strong deterrent to the distribution of harmful code. Developers and webmasters benefit from signed code because it positively supports their reputation and makes their products harder to falsify. By signing code, developers build a relationship of trust with users. Users will gain confidence in downloading signed software from that publisher or web site. Any publisher who plans to distribute code or content over the Internet, or over corporate extranets, risks impersonation and tampering. thawte Code Signing Certificates protect against these hazards. The thawte Code Signing Certificate provides greater assurance about the identity of a publishing organization. It is designed to represent the high level of assurance provided by today’s retail channels for software. thawte Developer Certificates are used to sign Java applets for the Java 2 plugin, Navigator/JVM 1.1.x and Microsoft Authenticode. They can also be used for signing .cab, .exe, and .dll files, and for signing Office 2000 Macro and Internet Explorer Object files. thawte offers a number of different types of code signing certificates, as well as one that can be used across the board. It is possible to buy one Code Signing Certificate from thawte and to use it for Microsoft AuthentiCode, Microsoft Office 2000/VBA Macro Signing, Netscape Object Signing, and Marimba Channel Signing, and with some tweaking it can be used to sign Java 2 applets created with particular versions of the JDK.
|
