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Important Release Information

This release of Authenticode version 2.0 is coupled with Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0, and contains changes and enhancements over the previous version that was released with Internet Explorer version 3.02 UPD.

The version of Authenticode that was released with Internet Explorer 3.02 UPD added several new important code-signing features that improve on the initial implementation of Authenticode. Both the code-signing tools and browsers were updated with a new infrastructure that provides for these new features. The two most important features are:

This release (with Internet Explorer 4.0) contains the same infrastructure and features as the Internet Explorer 3.02 UPD release. However, to provide a more consistent user interface, many of the command line option flags have been re-named or changed, and a few have been added.

As a result of these Authenticode improvements, the following steps need to be taken:

Note that once files are re-signed, users of Internet Explorer versions earlier than 3.02 UPD will not be able to verify the re-signed files unless they upgrade to version 3.02 UPD or version 4.0. But after July 1, 1997, users of Internet Explorer versions earlier than 3.02 UPD will not be able to verify any signed files, whether the files have been re-signed with the new tools or not. It is clearly in the users' best interest to upgrade to Internet Explorer 3.02 UPD or version 4.0 to be able to continue to verify signed files. So software publishers should be able to re-sign their code using the new tools with confidence that users will be able to verify the files.

Additionally, by using the VeriSign service to timestamp the new signatures, software publishers gain the added benefit that the digital signatures will not need to be re-signed when their own software publishing certificate expires.


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