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Microsoft terminated the account VeraCrypt used to sign Windows drivers

sourceforge.net

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Re: Microsoft terminated the account VeraCrypt used to sign Windows drivers

#401

Post by estimator7292 »

jraph wrote: post #342
zarzavat wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stop supporting Windows as well. Open source developers are doing Microsoft a big favor when they support Windows and publish Windows builds and installers. It's a substantial effort, and apparently that effort isn't appreciated. If all open source software dropped support for Windows, it wouldn't really affect the open source community that much. It would definitely cause headaches for Microsoft however.

It's not that easy. I agree that supporting Windows helps its ecosystem. But also open source software on Windows is an important gateway to the free world. When you are already used to Firefox, LibreOffice and VLC, you might as well switch to Linux painlessly, but if those didn't run on Windows, switching to Linux would require relearning everything.

Irrelevant. If it's time to stop using windows, all those windows users will have to relearn everything either way. Whether they do it in a windows environment or a linux one doesn't really change the equation.

A sudden lack of software on windows will increase user migration. If we all keep publishing for windows, users will just stay there because their needs are already met.

Re: Microsoft terminated the account VeraCrypt used to sign Windows drivers

#402

Post by cguess »

uyzstvqs wrote: post #250
cguess wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and yet... still unusable by the mass majority of people.

This is always said by people who either never touch the Linux desktop, or exclusively use their own custom Arch setup. You can install Fedora Linux, Linux Mint or Manjaro, and it's more user friendly than Windows 11 and macOS.

I compiled my first kernel at 13 (Mandrake, to age myself). I've used all the distros you just listed and no, none of them are close to as user friendly as at least MacOS. The fact that there are "flavors" you have to list alone is way too complicated and weird for most people.

For the vast majority of people an operating system is whatever comes with the computer the kid at Best Buy told them they should buy or their IT department gave them. Asking anyone to switch is basically impossible.

Re: Microsoft terminated the account VeraCrypt used to sign Windows drivers

#403

Post by WarmWash »

hparadiz wrote: post #395
WarmWash wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having an excellent CLI doesn't preclude having an excellent GUI. No reason we can't have both. Also I hate linux repos with a passion, because they are optimized for CLI usuage, and (like the whole OS) the GUI parts are a total unoptimized afterthought. Never mind that they are a dumping ground for whatever code anyone shits out, with virtually zero management or curation. With a CLI you don't see this, with a GUI i…

> whatever code anyone shits out downloading an exe is "whatever code anyone shits out" cause that's exactly what built binaries are A lot of the programs you use on Windows are actually the exact same ones on Linux be it VLC or Chrome. If you want to download binaries directly "from the source" and run those.... well that was always allowed. But remember the entire stack delivering the entire internet to you at any…

I want a linux distro that seasoned windows users can slide right into, so we can actually get droves of people leaving windows.

Re: Microsoft terminated the account VeraCrypt used to sign Windows drivers

#404

Post by SergeAx »

zx2c4 wrote: post #39

This is the same problem I'm currently facing with WireGuard. No warning at all, no notification. One day I sign in to publish an update, and yikes, account suspended. Currently undergoing some sort of 60 days appeals process, but who knows. That's kind of crazy: what if there were some critical RCE in WireGuard, being exploited in the wild, and I needed to update users immediately? (That's just hypothetical; don't f…

Is there a WireGuard version for Windows above 0.5.3 released in 2021?!

Re: Microsoft terminated the account VeraCrypt used to sign Windows drivers

#405

Post by ChrisArchitect »

Update from Scott Hanselman:

> Hey I love dumping on my company as much as the next guy, because Microsoft does some dumb stuff, but sometimes it's just check emails and verify your accounts.

Not every "WTF micro$oft" moment is a slam dunk. I've emailed VeraCrypt personally and we'll get him unblocked. I've already talked to Jason at WireGuard.

Not everything is a conspiracy, sometimes it's literally paperwork.

(https://x.com/shanselman/status/2041977121686585396 https://xcancel.com/shanselman/status/2041977121686585396)

Re: Microsoft terminated the account VeraCrypt used to sign Windows drivers

#406

Post by Joe_Cool »

electroly wrote: post #200
jonathanstrange wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who is just planning to publish signed desktop software for Windows, this is deeply worrying. What reasons could there be for cancelling a certificate, especially when it has been used for years and the identity is already established? Are there some ways to combat such decisions legally?

Perhaps not legally, but technically, you have an option: don't use the Microsoft Store. This isn't as wild a suggestion as it may seem to non-Windows users: the store is barely used by Windows users. You can get your own code signing certificate from a public CA, sign your own installer, and post it on your website. This is still the primary way that Windows software is distributed. Microsoft does not have a hand in…

I have found that MS still blocks my signed and timestamped .msi files for at least a few days. From saving the downloads in Edge and then via Smartscreen once you get it downloaded.

If I submit it manually for every update it tends to go better. If more people download and install it whitelists faster. But that is highly annoying, orwellian bullshit. Might even be anti-competitive or downright illegal.

Re: Microsoft terminated the account VeraCrypt used to sign Windows drivers

#407

Post by trinsic2 »

SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #368
trinsic2 wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> While I agree entirely that Linux in 2026 has never been more usable… how much actual work is being put into Office and 365 tooling native on Linux? Why the hell would you want that? Office365 is a buggy piece of nightmare.

Because even though you don’t like a thing, the entire world of business uses it. Hold your nose and work on WINE if you need to think that way. But MS has moats, and office is one of the widest.

I think business are going to be forced to change their thinking on this. Im not interesting in emulating windows progs in wine. I switched to Thunderbird a long time ago and other programs that give me the features I need with-out sacrificing my freedom.

Re: Microsoft terminated the account VeraCrypt used to sign Windows drivers

#408

Post by Avamander »

zx2c4 wrote: post #39

This is the same problem I'm currently facing with WireGuard. No warning at all, no notification. One day I sign in to publish an update, and yikes, account suspended. Currently undergoing some sort of 60 days appeals process, but who knows. That's kind of crazy: what if there were some critical RCE in WireGuard, being exploited in the wild, and I needed to update users immediately? (That's just hypothetical; don't f…

I saw a tweet saying that there's a requirement for verification.

> Effective October 16, 2025, Microsoft will initiate mandatory account verification for all partners in the Windows Hardware Program who have not completed account verification since April 2024.

> Partners who fail to complete Account Verification by the deadline, or who do not meet the requirements, will have their status set to Rejected and will be suspended from the program.

https://x.com/shanselman/status/2041974138253013205

Re: Microsoft terminated the account VeraCrypt used to sign Windows drivers

#409

Post by phatfish »

aeternum wrote: post #381
nostrademons wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would not surprise me if these actions are coming at the requests of governments. Strong encryption is one of the few things that challenges their monopoly on information; they have a very strong incentive to apply political pressure to the maintainers of these projects to, well, stop maintaining the projects. We've seen this in overt actions that the EU takes; in more covert actions that the U.S. government is su…

>More regulation won't help here, because the regulation-maker is itself the hostile party. It's easy to paint the big gov as bad, but this is a case where unfortunately the populace seems to be in agreement with the big bad gov. While most US citizens support encryption, 76% or so, the vast majority 63% also favor government "backdoor" access for national security reasons. I guess either we believe in democracy or w…

What does democracy have to do with electronic encryption? Democracy existed before computers.

There are legitimate reasons for governments to intercept information, with the correct oversight -- enforced legally in an "checks and balances" manner. The fact that there is a breakdown of trust between government and people won't be solved with more encryption.

Re: Microsoft terminated the account VeraCrypt used to sign Windows drivers

#410

Post by Joe_Cool »

poizan42 wrote: post #87
reddalo wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I stopped using SourceForge after they started tampering with installers to put adware inside of them. It's a bit worrying that a sensitive app such as VeraCrypt is still distributed there.

That was 11 years ago, under DHI Group though. I don't think Slashdot Media have been up to the same shady stuff.

Just shows how quickly and thoroughly those stupid suits managed to destroy its reputation. Guess they love burning money or really needed those tax writeoffs.
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