Driver Updates for PC

Articles and technical help with driver issues

Are Unsigned Drivers Safe? - Part 1

When installing new equipment, you may occasionally run across warnings saying that the driver for the device hasn’t been signed. This can sound somewhat distressing for some who don’t understand what it means, but this article can clear things up a bit.

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Why are drivers signed?

To begin with, drivers are small programs designed specifically for each of your devices, providing your system instructions on how to use them. Drivers essentially let your devices communicate and interact with your system. They are usually written by the manufacturers of the product, and are specific to a particular operating system (e.g. Windows XP, Windows Vista, etc.).

As per Microsoft standards, developers submit their drivers for testing at the Microsoft Hardware Quality Labs (MHQL) to make sure they run correctly and are compatible with Windows. Once the driver passes the tests, the authority attaches a digital signature to it. This signature indicates that the driver comes directly from the original publisher and has not been altered or tampered with in any way since then.

Sometimes users end up with drivers that haven’t been signed, because some manufacturers don’t want to subject themselves to the certification process for one reason or another.

In Windows XP, you can tell your system how to react to unsigned drivers, either to accept them, warn you, or block them all. To access this, go to Start > Control Panel > System > Hardware tab > Driver Signing.

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If your setting is to warn, and you attempt to install an unsigned driver, you may get one of the following messages:

- Windows can't verify the publisher of this driver software. This means the driver may not have been signed, or its signature doesn’t come from a certification authority.

- This driver hasn't been digitally signed. There is no digital signature present.

- Windows requires a digitally signed driver. This may mean that the driver was not signed, or has been altered since it was signed.

Continue to Part Two

 

 

 

 

 

 

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