How to Sign a Driver During Development and Testing?

Install a Driver on the Computer

Before installing a driver on a computer running a 64-bit version of Windows, you must sign the driver package. The driver package can be used for testing, as it is a more lenient form of signing than signing for the public release.

Visual Studio, Microsoft is at the starting point of the testing. It is turned on to sign the modules. Let’s assume you have made a KMDF driver solution using the KMDF driver template discussed in Writing a KMDF Driver.

When you finish the solution, you can see in the Output window that the driver package has been sign-tested.

Enable Test Sign in Manually

To switch on test signing, do these:

• In Visual Studio, you will find a solution with a driver package project you can open. Pick and press the working driver package project, and then select Properties.
• In the property pages for the package, look for Configuration Properties > Driver Signing > General. In the Sign Mode drop-list, choose Test Sign.
• In the property pages for the package, go to the Configuration Properties > Inf2Cat > General section. In the Run Inf2Cat drop-down list, tap Yes.

Seeing the Signed Driver Package

Navigate to File Explorer. After you build your solution, go to the folder that contains your driver package.

Once your solution is built, go to the folder that has your driver package in File Explorer. A catalog file is among the files in the package.

The catalog file has the digital signature of the pack of the message. To illustrate how to look into the files in a signed package, please take a look at Writing a KMDF driver based on a template.

Presenting a Signing Certificate

It is a way of emphasizing having them follow you. Visual Studio generates a signing certificate through the sign driver package test, which is then imported into a certificate store on your computer.

This certificate proves the authenticity of the test-signed driver package you deploy to a test computer. To the developers who build drivers on other hosts, the certificate you sign and then share with them is the certificate you must share, not the verification certificate.

To pass the signed certificate along, do these steps.

• In Visual Studio, in the Solution Explorer window, click on and hold (or right-click) your driver project package, and from the menu, select Properties.
• In the property pages for the package, go to Configuration Properties > Driver Signing > General. In the Test Certificate field, select the Option Of Select From Store.
• In the Select Certificate dialog box, you can find your test-signing certificate. The title of the certificate will be like WDKTestCert yourName. Choose the test-signing certificate that suits you best, and select Properties. In the Details tab, go to Copy to File.

Conclusion

These steps will mark your driver packages correctly test-signed, allowing for easy and safe driver development and testing. If you need more direction and experienced help, SignMyCode is the place to go.

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