First of all, users and administrators already have full control of what certificates their systems trust. (Skip to the end of this note for details.) There's no reason to think this will be a pain for users, admins, or developers.
For developers, the expense of getting code signed is next to nothing, and it's a one-time expense per product cycle. Also note that default Windows installations trust roots from companies other than Verisign and MS.
But what about MIS shops who might want to install some unsigned shareware widget? Won't they just disable this feature? (ahem, Jon Callas.) No, there are better options: Why don't they generate a root certificate of their own (for free) and deploy it themselves? Now they can self-sign anything they want to deploy, and they still have their security in place on the desktop.
And if you're a user who feels capable of making smart decisions about what attachments should and shouldn't be opened, you can just disable the feature.
As far as I can tell, all that anyone's talking about changing in Whistler is the user experience. You know, warm fuzzy dialog boxes, default signing policies, that kind of thing.
As long as you (and I mean "you" in either the individual or the organizational sense) maintain control of your system's trusted roots, this feature will be a Good Thing.
- pty
The semi-technical details: Open an IE5 window (even if it means a trip down the hall to some less enlightened luser's office) and click Tools. Then Internet Options. Then the Content tab. Then Certificates. Then the Trusted Root Authorities tab. See the 'Import' button? Pretty cool, huh? (Let's save the UI discussion for another day, though.)
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For developers, the expense of getting code signed is next to nothing, and it's a one-time expense per product cycle. Also note that default Windows installations trust roots from companies other than Verisign and MS.
But what about MIS shops who might want to install some unsigned shareware widget? Won't they just disable this feature? (ahem, Jon Callas.) No, there are better options: Why don't they generate a root certificate of their own (for free) and deploy it themselves? Now they can self-sign anything they want to deploy, and they still have their security in place on the desktop.
And if you're a user who feels capable of making smart decisions about what attachments should and shouldn't be opened, you can just disable the feature.
As far as I can tell, all that anyone's talking about changing in Whistler is the user experience. You know, warm fuzzy dialog boxes, default signing policies, that kind of thing.
As long as you (and I mean "you" in either the individual or the organizational sense) maintain control of your system's trusted roots, this feature will be a Good Thing.
- pty
The semi-technical details: Open an IE5 window (even if it means a trip down the hall to some less enlightened luser's office) and click Tools. Then Internet Options. Then the Content tab. Then Certificates. Then the Trusted Root Authorities tab. See the 'Import' button? Pretty cool, huh? (Let's save the UI discussion for another day, though.)