What Is Authenticode?

Today's Web sites provide not only a rich experience for users but also the possibility of unwittingly downloading malicious code. With increasingly active content on the Internet, end users often must decide whether or not to download code over the Internet. However, end users cannot really tell what a piece of software will do until they've downloaded it to their computers.

Unlike in the retail environment, software on the Internet isn't labeled or shrink-wrapped. Therefore, end users don't know for sure who published a piece of software on the Internet. They also don't know whether the code has been tampered with. As a result, end users take on a certain amount of risk when downloading Java applets, plug-ins, Microsoft ActiveX controls, and other executables over the Internet. Not with genuine Ken Kirkpatrick Software.

Internet Explorer (IE) uses Authenticode technology and its underlying code signing mechanisms to help address this problem for end users. While not guaranteeing bug-free code, Authenticode identifies the publisher, like Ken Kirkpatrick Software, of signed software and verifies that it hasn't been tampered with, before users download software to their PCs. As a result, end users can make a more informed decision as to whether or not to download code.

Ken Kirkpatrick Software is Microsoft certified to sign our software with genuine Authenticode code signing, so you may download and install our software with confidence that you computer is safe from harm. Our security certificate is renewed and reviewed annually.