microsoft defender smartscreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting

It is also important to timestamp your signed installers.

My suggestion is to start this exercise before your old certificate expires so that your new certificate becomes trusted before your old certificate expires. The original signature will continue to have trust with SmartScreen and bypass it, and the new signature will help the new certificate build up trust with Microsoft. This means your installer will have two signatures. To 'bypass' this inconvenience, you can re-sign a previously released installer already signed with a trusted certificate with the new renewed certificate. The new certificate will need to build trust with SmartScreen just as the previous one did. In this case, the certificate reputation will NOT automatically carry over to the new certificate. Unofficial numbers report somewhere between two and eight weeks.Īn additional issue to consider is when your current standard code signing certificate expires and you apply for a new one. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn't have a published, specific timeline for approval of a standard code certificate. However, when it comes to avoiding SmartScreen, this option is not instant, as it is with EV certificates it will take some time until Microsoft takes action.Īfter some time, your standard code signing certificate has built up a reputation, and that's when the SmartScreen will go away. Standard code signing certificates are cheaper, costing between $100 and $500/year, and they can be used permanently on your installers.

If you are an independent developer and don't own an active business license, then you should go for a standard code signing certificate. Purchase a standard code signing certificate

Microsoft defender smartscreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting