Code Signing: Understand the Signature

A software signature helps a recipient evaluate the publisher and whether signed content has changed. It is different from the TLS certificate used by a website. A valid signature is not a malware scan or a guarantee that an application is safe.

Start here

Your task	Appropriate next step
Check an existing Windows file	Inspect its Authenticode status without running it
Publish new software	Check the current platform and certificate authority requirements
Sign a Windows driver	Check Microsoft’s current driver-signing program separately
Buy or renew an old GoDaddy signing product	Read the retirement notice; this page has no sales offer

GoDaddy stopped issuing and renewing code/driver-signing certificates June 1, 2021. An old Cubix product page does not establish an available certificate today.

Read-only Windows check

Replace the placeholder with a file you are authorized to inspect.

Get-AuthenticodeSignature -LiteralPath 'C:\Path\YourApp.exe' |
  Select-Object Status, StatusMessage

This inspects the signature without launching the file. Valid means the signature passes the current verification check; NotSigned means this check found no signature. Other statuses require their actual message to be examined. Windows trust state and signature type matter. Do not disable security controls or assume that signing removes all installation warnings.

Before publishing software

Verify the applicable issuer/platform requirements, protect signing keys and assign renewal/revocation responsibility.

Driver signing

Driver signing is not interchangeable with ordinary application signing. Check Microsoft’s current driver-signing program separately before planning a release.

Provider retirement notice. Microsoft signature inspection reference.