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SSL & Web Security Learning Center

Expert guides and tutorials on SSL/TLS certificates, encryption, PKI, and digital security. Explore the bylines, dates and sources in each guide before applying it to your environment.

205

Guides published

Oct 22, 2026

Last guide updated

Daniel Rehak

Contributor articles

Primary sources

CA/B Forum, RFCs, vendor docs

Browse by Topic

205 articles found

Code Signing Certificate Price: What OV and EV Cost in 2026

One-year OV code signing lists at $129 to $530+ and EV at $349–$669 on CA stores (October 2026). What drives the price, the token and cloud costs the sticker hides, and how the 460-day cap changes multi-year plans.

My-SSL TeamJul 20, 202612 min

Comparisons

How Long Does SSL Certificate Validation Take?

DV SSL validates in minutes; OV takes 1–3 business days; EV up to two weeks. What the CA verifies at each level, the documents to have ready, and why an unverifiable phone number is the delay that stalls most OV and EV orders.

My-SSL TeamJul 19, 202612 min

Guides

How to Sign a NuGet Package (Step by Step)

Sign a NuGet package with dotnet nuget sign: use a hardware-based code signing certificate, reference it by SHA-256 fingerprint, add an RFC 3161 timestamp, then register the certificate on NuGet.org and verify. Includes the author-vs-repository signature split and the errors most first uploads hit.

My-SSL TeamJul 18, 202612 min

Guides

How to Sign a VBA Macro (Word, Excel & PowerPoint)

Sign a VBA macro in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint in the VBA editor or with SignTool and Microsoft's Office SIPs, timestamp it through the registry, re-sign for V3, and get your certificate into Trusted Publishers, which is what lets a signed macro in a downloaded file run.

My-SSL TeamJul 17, 202613 min

Code Signing

EV vs OV Code Signing: Which One Do You Actually Need?

EV vs OV code signing in 2026: EV no longer skips SmartScreen, so standard OV is the right choice for most publishers. When EV is still required (kernel drivers, enterprise policy), what both now cost, and how the 460-day validity and hardware-key rules affect each.

My-SSL TeamJul 16, 202612 min

Code Signing

The 'Unknown Publisher' Warning: Is It Safe, and How Do You Fix It?

Windows says Unknown Publisher when a file has no signature it trusts. How to tell the UAC, SmartScreen and Smart App Control dialogs apart, check a file before running it, and remove the warning from your own software with a trusted, timestamped signature.

My-SSL TeamJul 15, 202610 min

Code Signing

Code Signing Certificate Validity: The New 460-Day Limit

Since March 1, 2026, publicly trusted code signing certificates max out at 460 days — down from about three years — under CA/Browser Forum Ballot CSC-31. What changed, who's affected, how multi-year purchases now work as reissues, and how to plan renewals without a signing gap.

My-SSL TeamJul 14, 202612 min

SSL Basics

What Is a Digital Signature? How It Works with Certificates

A digital signature uses a private key to prove a file came from you and hasn't been altered, while a certificate ties that key to a verified identity. How signing and verifying work, what they guarantee, and the certificate types behind HTTPS, code signing, documents, and email.

My-SSL TeamJul 13, 202611 min

SSL Basics

What Is a CSR? Certificate Signing Request Explained

A CSR (Certificate Signing Request) is a signed PKCS#10 block that carries your public key and identity to a certificate authority — while the matching private key stays on your server. What's inside a CSR, how it becomes a certificate, and the mistakes that stall an order.

My-SSL TeamJul 12, 202611 min

Guides

How to Install an S/MIME Certificate in Outlook (Windows, Mac & Web)

Get your S/MIME certificate working in every Outlook: import the .pfx into the store each version actually reads — Windows store, Outlook's own S/MIME settings, or the macOS Keychain — pick it as your signing certificate, and trade one signed email before you encrypt. Includes the five errors that stop most first setups.

My-SSL TeamJul 12, 202612 min

Guides

What Is a Document Signing Certificate? Digital PDF Signatures Explained

A document signing certificate ties a CA-verified identity to your PDF and Office signatures. What separates it from a typed e-signature, how the cryptography works, what Adobe AATL membership changes for recipients, and how the eIDAS levels decide legal weight.

My-SSL TeamJul 10, 202612 min

Guides

How to Sign a Windows Driver (Attestation Signing, Step by Step)

Kernel drivers only load when Microsoft signs them: what your EV certificate actually signs, the attestation submission in Partner Center step by step, why Windows Server needs WHQL instead, and what the April 2026 cross-signing cutoff broke.

My-SSL TeamJul 9, 202613 min

All guides by topic

Every guide in the Learning Hub, grouped by subject. 205 articles covering SSL/TLS certificates, code signing, S/MIME, PKI and server configuration.

Code Signing

28 guides

SSL Basics

16 guides

Guides

63 guides

Security

56 guides

Comparisons

13 guides

Installation

25 guides

SSL Configuration

4 guides

How these guides are written and reviewed

Guides are written by Daniel Rehak and other contributors. Check each guide’s sources and date against the current issuer or platform documentation. My-SSL also sells certificates; product recommendations have a commercial relationship to this site. Send corrections with the page URL and supporting source.

Where a rule has a future effective date, the guide states what applies today and marks the future change separately. The most recently updated guide in this library was updated on Oct 22, 2026.

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