Retro Uprising - View Single Post

**Kong** · 09-08-2010, 11:35 AM

Just to be clear for other people reading this, this thread has to do with getting a PS3 controller to work on a PC and doesn't have anything to do with AOX or RU or our games.

I thought if you tried to install a driver that was not signed Windows would pop a message saying this driver is not signed, do you want to continue. Yes or No. I have seen that before. Are you logged in as admin?

The following is more of an educated guess than an expert opinion. You should double check through Google.

A driver is a piece of software that lets your computer communicate with hardware. A driver has the power to do anything to you computer and if it is a virus or just poorly written and buggy then that could be something bad.

Starting with Windows Vista and now Win7, Microsoft forces drivers to be signed. If they are not signed then they will not install. This is to prevent viruses and buggy drivers from being spread.

As far as I know all this really means is the company has a few hundred or maybe few thousand dollars to spend on getting it signed. There isn't any type of testing being done. Most viruses creators wouldn't spend the money because they can find a free way to do it without drivers. And most poorly written drivers wouldn't pay for the certification because they are too cheap to begin with. So paid signing kind of raises the bar and ensures that drivers for Vista are better than ones for XP.

I had to pay to have ArcadeOX signed before IE would let you install it under default security settings. All that involved was paying a yearly fee and providing proof of identity and address. I think drivers are similar. This is more secure than not requiring it but it is hardly bullet proof.

So anyways, turning signed driver enforcement off would make drivers as insecure as they were on XP and as regular software is on Vista and you are OK with the risk that regular software has.

I think if you just keep in mind that you turned this security off and stay extra careful and don't install any drivers without turning this back on then you should be OK.

09-08-2010, 11:35 AM	#26
Donor Administrator 12,332 posts View Stats	Kong Re: Controller maping Just to be clear for other people reading this, this thread has to do with getting a PS3 controller to work on a PC and doesn't have anything to do with AOX or RU or our games. I thought if you tried to install a driver that was not signed Windows would pop a message saying this driver is not signed, do you want to continue. Yes or No. I have seen that before. Are you logged in as admin? The following is more of an educated guess than an expert opinion. You should double check through Google. A driver is a piece of software that lets your computer communicate with hardware. A driver has the power to do anything to you computer and if it is a virus or just poorly written and buggy then that could be something bad. Starting with Windows Vista and now Win7, Microsoft forces drivers to be signed. If they are not signed then they will not install. This is to prevent viruses and buggy drivers from being spread. As far as I know all this really means is the company has a few hundred or maybe few thousand dollars to spend on getting it signed. There isn't any type of testing being done. Most viruses creators wouldn't spend the money because they can find a free way to do it without drivers. And most poorly written drivers wouldn't pay for the certification because they are too cheap to begin with. So paid signing kind of raises the bar and ensures that drivers for Vista are better than ones for XP. I had to pay to have ArcadeOX signed before IE would let you install it under default security settings. All that involved was paying a yearly fee and providing proof of identity and address. I think drivers are similar. This is more secure than not requiring it but it is hardly bullet proof. So anyways, turning signed driver enforcement off would make drivers as insecure as they were on XP and as regular software is on Vista and you are OK with the risk that regular software has. I think if you just keep in mind that you turned this security off and stay extra careful and don't install any drivers without turning this back on then you should be OK.
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