Updates

• January 22, 2022 - Certificate added to Vertcoin-Core by pull request
• January 21, 2022 - Code Signing Certificate issued
• December 22, 2021 - Code Signing Certificate with Comodo paid for and being validated
• December 20, 2021 - Vertcoin Project Code Signing LLC is registered
• November 29, 2021 - Vertcoin Project Code Signing LLC filing was mailed to MN Secretary of State on November 29th - processing takes 5 - 7 business days upon receipt

Proposal

The code signing certificate currently being used for OCM is issued by Comodo, EV (requires hardware based 2FA in possession of Gertjaap), expires September 2022 and is registered to Vertcoin Foundation, Inc. which isn't incorporated anymore. This current process requiring hardware based 2FA in order to sign makes it difficult for others to sign software such as Vertcoin-Core and after September 2022, a whole new certificate will have to be issued under a new organization.

Signing Windows binaries with a certificate helps to bypass the blue Windows Defender Smart Screen and displays the name of the organization who signed the software which you are allowing to be run. This helps to build trust and credibility when running the software.

Windows and MacOS builds for Vertcoin-Core have never been code signed. To ensure that Vertcoin-Core today as well as OCM (after September 2022) and future software developed within the Vertcoin Project can be code signed, I propose the creation of the Vertcoin Project Code Signing LLC. This will be filed by my registered agent as an LLC and meets the organization requirements for a code signing certificate issued by Comodo. The certificate and registered agent will be renewed yearly.

Comodo Code Signing Certificate - 1 Year $179

Initial Filing of LLC and Registered Agent - $184

Total - $363 (600 VTC as of November 29, 2021)