topic Digitally Signing DLLs in Civil 3D Customization Forum

DLL digitally signed

joantopo — Sat, 07 Jan 2017 19:06:55 GMT

Hi all.

From Autodesk Exchange recommend putting a digital sign to the DLL.

I have no experience about this and I have read that we can do this directly from the project properties (Sign tab).

I have created a new *.pfx file (with password) as you can see in the following image:

The problem is when I am trying to debug or generate the release, then I get 4 errors about DLL of AutoCAD:

"Acdbmgd" as reference doesn´t have a secure name.

"AeccDbMgd" ..............................................

"Acmgd" .............................................

"accoremgd".

They are from AutoCAD 2017. (Obviously they are not as a "local copy").

How can I solve this to generate my app properly?

Thanks in advance.

Re: DLL digitally signed

joantopo — Sat, 07 Jan 2017 19:36:55 GMT

I am reading this:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/getting-started/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2017/ENU/Revit-API/files/GUID-F4CD6AAE-FB9F-43B2-974D-06C15E1F08E8-htm.html

Is about Revit but it is the same for C3D.

I don´t want to spend a lot of money for a digital certificate because I am not a professional programmer. Any recommendation about a good price to do this?

Re: DLL digitally signed

TerryDotson — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 16:04:39 GMT

I suppose a truly capable hacker with bad intentions could not steal or simulate a certificate?

The digital signature makes it look like it's something important but deep down is it really?

Re: DLL digitally signed

joantopo — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 17:45:06 GMT

Yes, but I don't know if the certificate is paying or not.

Web links such as simantec listed in the revit web and others are for paying.

For example, in my country, Spain, we can get a certification (pfx file) from the local administration.

This certification has a public and private key ( I supose also the digital signature), so I supose this certification is valid for our applications.

Re: DLL digitally signed

Virupaksha_aithal — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 09:52:26 GMT

Hi,

You need to use SignTool.exe to sign your modules. Please refer blog http://adndevblog.typepad.com/autocad/2015/01/adding-a-post-build-event-to-digitally-sign-a-binary-file.html which shows how to setup auto signing after building your module.

You can also manually sign the dll using command line

Example : signtool sign /f <yourPfxfile> /p <password> <executablefile>

I hope this helps.

Digitally Signing DLLs

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Jul 2017 18:23:57 GMT

I downloaded the digital signing tools and signed some DLLs apps that run in AutoCAD 2016.

In the properties window for each DLL, it shows a signature (Digital).

When a coworker loads these in their system and runs AutoCAD 2017, they get a warning that they were not signed.

Not sure if we absolutely need to "buy" an official Certificate.

(I used tools that I downloaded online to make ours.)

Re: Digitally Signing DLLs

Virupaksha_aithal — Fri, 07 Jul 2017 04:51:44 GMT

HI,

Sorry, I am not clear by your statement “buy” an official certificate. From whom you bought the digital signature. Also, can you share the image of the properties tab of the signed dll? Below is the similar image at my end.

Re: Digitally Signing DLLs

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Jul 2017 18:17:38 GMT

Hi,

Here is the screen shot of one:

Re: Digitally Signing DLLs

Virupaksha_aithal — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 05:33:04 GMT

Hi,

Looks like digital signature is not proper. Please refer issued to and issued by in your image. Please contact the digital signature vendor for this issue.

Re: Digitally Signing DLLs

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 19:20:00 GMT

I actually generated the certificate myself using instructions from various websites...

is there a problem with doing this? is it better to Purchase a certificate online instead?

Re: Digitally Signing DLLs

tyronebk — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 21:40:06 GMT

If you are generating the certificates internally then you need to make sure the certificates are installed on all machines running your code. This includes both the certification authority and code signing certificate.

Purchasing a certificate online is easier but also, obviously, more expensive. It also makes it possible to share signed modules with external firms. That said, my firm makes do with self signed certificates where possible.