digital signature tab missing ??

[Kimbo]

most major software companies have been digitally signing their software for years. after downloading files from the web, i always go file properties --> digital signatures and make sure it is valid and has not been tempered with. with the last two downloads, the trial of adobe photoshop elements cs3 and another program from their respective official sites, and both of which have digital signatures. (i manually check at the end of the files), yet neither have the digital signatures tab when i select properties, i only see the general/version/compatibility/secu* rity and summary tabs.
something has made the digital signature tabs for these two files not show in the file's properties tab. but what ?
because: if i boot into a different setup (i have 3 on the same pc) in that environment i can see the D/S tab for photoshop but not for the other file. i was thinking that it may have been that the adobe certificate on the other environment was corrupt or something... but it's not - as i can see other adobe files D/S tabs, like adobe acrobat and some others just fine, and any other non adobe files with D/S's show up just fine.
also since these two products use macrovision installshield is there a dos switch that lets you check the D/S integrity ? (since the tabs are missing ?)
thanks,

[kinjkangan]

thanks for all the info

[Kimbo]

{who is this guy ? a bot perhaps ?} (i asked a question, not give information per se)

anyway...

so nobody here knows this ???? do me a favor if bandwidth is nothing to one of you.... who has interest in knowledge. download adobe indesign cs3 from here , it's 459mb. then select file properties and see if you get a digital signatures tab. (see figure 1 of another adobe file that does show it.)

so, do you get that with the indesign file ? you may well say it hasn't got one, but trust me it does! all adobe files are and have been digitally signed for a while now, especially large executables. also if i "look" at the end of the file, where the verisign information is always stored it's there. (see figure 2)

so no one here is interested in this kind of stuff ?

[3 of 7]

I just checked a bunch of .exe's that were downloaded from their respective host sites.... AVG, flash,Acronis true image, Thunderbird mail and Firefox...
Not one of them shows a digital signature available..(to be honest, I never looked before lol)

[Kimbo]

well that's not right either, firefox SHOULD have a dt tab. all mine do, as they should. i'll tell you what.. i _think_ some of the older and wiser members are holding back their answers for some reason... i just can not believe that no one here knows about this. i can not be the only man who notices this stuff and also be the only one who always checks for ds tabs, especially from major companies. ... you know to check the integrity of the file - that it hasn't been altered on route. shouldn't it be a part of most smart people's mo to check ds ??

[3 of 7]

I've copied these files from one computer to another, would that affect the DS?

[Kimbo]

Originally Posted by 3 of 7

I've copied these files from one computer to another, would that affect the DS?

no, the ds is built into the file itself. it can not get "lost" as such.
at one stage i thought it may be a screwed company certificate but it isn't as files from the same company, in this case adobe, work and show up on several other files on the same system. if all of a sudden they all stop having ds shown (from say adobe) then i would almost certainly assume a rooted adobe certificate. that's why i need someone else to get that very same file (in this instance) and see if they see it. if they do get a ds with the indesign file, then it IS something on this side and i must investigate further. either way i'm not satisfied.

[3 of 7]

Big ooops.... I have the DT on them but I was seeing "not available" under the email tab.... My bad, sorry..

[k0NG0]

It should be a part of the MO, but it isn't. Because in reality, the OS should check such things and throw up a warning if the file has been altered, and you should have to jump through hoops to actually run it at all. In general, the whole concept of certificates and signed software is rather botched and bolted on after the fact. Hasn't been hardened against spoofing and whatnot.

Anyway, I'd check, but I'm running SUSE nowadays and booting into Windows takes the better part of the evening (and Mozilla Minefield hangs every 15 seconds).

[Kimbo]

this particular "feature" has nothing to do with the o/s. (as in - it has never been automatic or is)
look, good or not so good, digital signatures are ok. usually if i download direct from adobe or microsoft or intel i don't worry. but if for example i download quicktime standalone from a 3rd party site (trusted nevertheless, maybe twocows.com or download.com) i still like to manually check the ds on the files to make sure it hasn't been altered in any way. {for those that didn't know, if even one byte (as in number or letter) is changed the ds shows it as invalid} so d/s's are an excellent way to tell if a supposedly trusted file is genuine or has been altered by a rouge agent. and i'm not 100%, but i don't think it can be spoofed or it has been hacked at all. it uses sha1 and verisign et al are not stupid. and i'd be getting quicktime standalone from a reliable 3rd party because we all know how well apple hides this file. they want you to get the itunes bundle crap. but quicktime is just an example. as for vista, all major files have to be signed now, so it's only going to get tighter.

look, the thing is i have a specific issue.
i have several adobe files, for which i can see the ds tab - as i should. (and trust, me i know when it's there) if it's not i wouldn't expect it. but then i get the odd file that has the ds information yet i can not see the bloody tab. the easiest way to tell if it's something on my end is for someone else to get the same file and see if they have the tab or not. if they don't, i'll feel better - but still will not be satisfied as i know there is a verisign d/s embeded in the file. perhaps there is an option when the software is packaged (with installshield et al) to show the d/s tab or not, along with other tabs. i know from experience all the other tabs can be manipulated with installshield. i never played around with d/s because that cost for each file usually several hundred dollars each. if it didn't i'd be signing my files just for fun and experience. ..anyway, and so the guy who packages indesign for example either forgot to click the show d/s tab or unclicked it.

adobe too, is an example, sometimes other company files including microsoft have the missing ds tab.

[Malbeth]

this thread scored better to the search engine than the apparent answer The Digital Signatures tab may not appear in the properties dialog box of a digitally signed file that is larger than approximately 400 MB in Windows XP with Service Pack 2

[Kimbo]

Originally Posted by Malbeth

this thread scored better to the search engine than the apparent answer The Digital Signatures tab may not appear in the properties dialog box of a digitally signed file that is larger than approximately 400 MB in Windows XP with Service Pack 2

thank you very much, i am a search engine guru master appropriate. (w.t.f.??)
but yeah, i too came across that bit a while ago. the last file that had this issue was the new the witcher patch v1.3 which is 338mb. nevertheless thanks for posting to finally conclude the question. ...and what a shame that none of the regular users knew this. (kongo??)

[Kimbo]

Originally Posted by kinjkangan

thanks for all the info

yeah, i was right about this user. still only the one post, so yeah, i'm that good.