I am a solo shareware developer in the US. In the past I attestation signed drivers and have a Microsoft dashboard account, but have been out of it for a while and need to start signing drivers again so new products can be released to end users. At this time I have no signing certificate and no business structure. I would like to sign drivers for Windows 10 including secure boot, but not older Windows versions like Windows 7/8. What kind of signing certificate should I buy? What is the minimum business structure (sole proprietorship, corporation, etc) and trimmings (DNB#, etc) that I need to create? Has anyone done these things recently and have experiences or advice?
You need an ev cert. You need a registered corporate entity - in your case a simple LLC would suffice. You do not need DNB nonsense.
Hello, in a similar boat. Near the end of last year there was some discussion that there would be more vetting on MS’s side. Can anyone speak to that? I set up an LLC and DNB account a while back just for getting an EV cert but was hoping someone could find out.
A sole proprietorship isn’t workable in most jurisdictions because there are no incorporation documents. Sole proprietorships tend to be a really bad idea anyway.
In some (most?) states a LLC is very cheap even considering recurring filing requirements. But you will need a DNB number, last I looked for EV certs places require it along with your incorporation documents. Luckily they just hand them out.
It’s not Microsoft that does the vetting, it’s the certificate authority. They decide how much vetting to do. It’s in their interest, because the whole purpose of a certificate is the certificate authority saying “I hereby assert that these people are who they say they are.”