9 replies to this topic

[iceangel89]

can i use ImDisk without test mode?

or at least can i disable the "Test Mode" text on the bottom right hand side of the desktop?

is test mode a big security risk or something? for it to make a place in the desktop?

but so far ImDISK is a great tool!

[Olof Lagerkvist]

can i use ImDisk without test mode?

No, not without signing the binary with a certificate trusted by Microsoft.

or at least can i disable the "Test Mode" text on the bottom right hand side of the desktop?

No, not in any way I am aware of at least.

is test mode a big security risk or something? for it to make a place in the desktop?

I would say no, it is not. It just turns the security of driver loading to somewhat more close to how it works on 32-bit versions.

but so far ImDISK is a great tool!

Thanks!

[paraglider]

And that is one of the reasons why the 32bit OS are less secure that the 64 bit OS.

[Olof Lagerkvist]

And that is one of the reasons why the 32bit OS are less secure that the 64 bit OS.

Yes, but a 64-bit OS in test mode is still more secure than a 32-bit OS because it still requires kernel code to be signed. The only difference is that you can decide to trust other sources than the sources Microsoft have decided to trust. But you can still clearly see which certificate a driver file matches so that you can see which source it comes from if you suspect it has been altered.

In my opinion the "test mode" behavior would have been a reasonable default behavior and the stronger, now default behavior, could have been something possible to activate if it was needed. I think they have gone too far now with nothing to win. In they way it works now anyone with some money to spend could pay for a certificate trusted by Microsoft and distribute any kind of crap/dangerous/malware driver and have it loaded in default 64-bit environment just because it is signed...

[karyonix]

Code signing certificate is not free.
The cheapest price I've seen is $229 for 1 year.
http://www.sslshoppe...rtificates.html
Maybe it's too expensive for a hobby freeware programmer.

[Olof Lagerkvist]

Maybe it's too expensive for a hobby freeware programmer.

In most cases yes, probably. In my case as a professional programmer I principally never pay anything extra just for distributing free software. So far I have never had any commercial reason to by a certificate (no 64-bit drivers yet) so therefore I have not bought any. If that time comes in the future where I need a certificate I will buy one and then use it to sign my free software as well and this whole "test mode" thing will become history.

[paraglider]

If you look further on the Globalsign site you find this statement:

Note that due to the high security model and high trust levels associated with this GlobalSign offering, Individuals, Sole Traders and Unregistered Organisations are NOT eligible for Code Signing Certificates.


http://www.globalsig...w_do_i_buy.html

[Olof Lagerkvist]

If you look further on the Globalsign site you find this statement:

Note that due to the high security model and high trust levels associated with this GlobalSign offering, Individuals, Sole Traders and Unregistered Organisations are NOT eligible for Code Signing Certificates.


http://www.globalsig...w_do_i_buy.html

Still, things like this can happen.

Current list of certificate providers approved by Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.../crosscert.mspx
(I suspect some of them do not do that deep research about companies applying for a trusted certificate.)

[Lancelot]

can i use ImDisk without test mode?

well you can use XPx64. So far i understand the current topic is about MS forcing signed drivers having certificate on Vistax64 (& probably Win7x64) (ps: I especially hate this ). So far imdisk works without problem on XPx64 and i havent seen "test mode" sign anywhere yet. Thanks to Olof a lot

btw, Reminding, On first days of vista64 (before sp1 and before some updates) certificate could be disabled which is good for "home" users who uses freeware tools........Maybe this "you must use drivers with certificate" thing is good for companies for protecting their computers, but.......

CU

[karyonix]

If I want to buy one, would I have to create&register a company first? That's very complicated.
What if after I've gone though the trouble of setting up a company, they still don't trust me? They can say "You are in unsupported region. We can't trust you." What would I do then?
If Microsoft's partner don't allow, I can't sign a kernel driver for x64.

At least there is still Test Mode available. I hope Microsoft will not remove Test Mode from future versions of Windows soon.