CodeSign VB.NET Reference Documentation

CodeSign

Current Version: 10.1.0

A class for signing Windows executables and DLLs, and for verifying signed executables and DLLs. This is a Windows-only class. The class and functions will exist on non-Windows systems, but will be no-op functions (stubs) that simply return a failed status.

Object Creation

Dim obj As New Chilkat.CodeSign()

Properties

DebugLogFilePath
DebugLogFilePath As String

If set to a file path, causes each Chilkat method or property call to automatically append it's LastErrorText to the specified log file. The information is appended such that if a hang or crash occurs, it is possible to see the context in which the problem occurred, as well as a history of all Chilkat calls up to the point of the problem. The VerboseLogging property can be set to provide more detailed information.

This property is typically used for debugging the rare cases where a Chilkat method call hangs or generates an exception that halts program execution (i.e. crashes). A hang or crash should generally never happen. The typical causes of a hang are:

  1. a timeout related property was set to 0 to explicitly indicate that an infinite timeout is desired,
  2. the hang is actually a hang within an event callback (i.e. it is a hang within the application code), or
  3. there is an internal problem (bug) in the Chilkat code that causes the hang.

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HeartbeatMs
HeartbeatMs As Integer
Introduced in version 9.5.0.98

This property is only valid in programming environment and languages that allow for event callbacks.

Specifies the time interval in milliseconds between AbortCheck events. A value of 0 (the default) indicate that no AbortCheck events will fire. Any HTTP operation can be aborted via the AbortCheck event.

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LastErrorHtml
LastErrorHtml As String (ReadOnly)

Provides information in HTML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastErrorText
LastErrorText As String (ReadOnly)

Provides information in plain-text format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastErrorXml
LastErrorXml As String (ReadOnly)

Provides information in XML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastMethodSuccess
LastMethodSuccess As Boolean

Indicate whether the last method call succeeded or failed. A value of True indicates success, a value of False indicates failure. This property is automatically set for method calls. It is not modified by property accesses. The property is automatically set to indicate success for the following types of method calls:

  • Any method that returns a string.
  • Any method returning a Chilkat object, binary bytes, or a date/time.
  • Any method returning a standard boolean status value where success = True and failure = False.
  • Any method returning an integer where failure is defined by a return value less than zero.

Note: Methods that do not fit the above requirements will always set this property equal to True. For example, a method that returns no value (such as a "void" in C++) will technically always succeed.

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UncommonOptions
UncommonOptions As String
Introduced in version 9.5.0.97

This is a catch-all property to be used for uncommon needs. This property defaults to the empty string and should typically remain empty.

Can be set to a list of the following comma separated keywords:

  • "codesign-allow-expired-cert" - Don't fail authenticode signature validation because the signing certificate is expired.

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VerboseLogging
VerboseLogging As Boolean

If set to True, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is False. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
Version As String (ReadOnly)

Version of the component/library, such as "9.5.0.94"

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Methods

AddSignature
Function AddSignature(ByVal path As String, ByVal cert As Cert, ByVal options As JsonObject) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.97

Authenticode signs a DLL or EXE.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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AddSignatureAsync (1)
Function AddSignatureAsync(ByVal path As String, ByVal cert As Cert, ByVal options As JsonObject) As Task
Introduced in version 9.5.0.97

Creates an asynchronous task to call the AddSignature method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)

Note: Async method event callbacks happen in the background thread. Accessing and updating UI elements existing in the main thread may require special considerations.

Returns Nothing on failure

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GetSignerCert
Function GetSignerCert(ByVal cert As Cert) As Boolean
Introduced in version 10.0.1

This method retrieves the signer certificate after calling VerifySignature. If successful and the signer certificate is fully available, cert will contain the certificate.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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RemoveSignature
Function RemoveSignature(ByVal path As String) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.97

Removes the authenticode signature of a Windows executable or DLL. The path to the executable/DLL is passed in path.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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VerifySignature
Function VerifySignature(ByVal path As String, ByVal sigInfo As JsonObject) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.97

Verifies the signature of a Windows executable or DLL. The path to the executable/DLL is passed in path. Information about the signature is returned in sigInfo. Returns True if the signature is verified indicating the EXE or DLL can be trusted. Otherwise returns False.

Returns True for success, False for failure.

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Events

AbortCheck
Event OnAbortCheck

Provides the opportunity for a method call to be aborted. The AbortCheck event is fired periodically based on the value of the HeartbeatMs property. If HeartbeatMs is 0, then no AbortCheck events will fire. As an example, to fire 5 AbortCheck events per second, set the HeartbeatMs property equal to 200.

Args are passed using Chilkat.AbortCheckEventArgs

Event callback implementation:

Dim WithEvents codesign As Chilkat.CodeSign

Private Sub codesign_OnAbortCheck(sender As Object, args As Chilkat.AbortCheckEventArgs) Handles codesign.OnAbortCheck

    ...

End Sub
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PercentDone
Event OnPercentDone

Provides the percentage completed for any method that involves network communications or time-consuming processing (assuming it is a method where a percentage completion can be measured). This event is only fired when it is possible to know a percentage completion, and when it makes sense to express the operation as a percentage completed. The pctDone argument will have a value from 1 to 100. For operations (Chilkat method calls) that complete very quickly, the number of PercentDone callbacks will vary, but the final callback should have a value of 100. For long running operations, no more than one callback per percentage point will occur (for example: 1, 2, 3, ... 98, 99, 100).

The PercentDone callback counts as an AbortCheck event. For method calls that complete quickly such that PercentDone events fire, it may be that AbortCheck events don't fire because the opportunity to abort is already provided in the PercentDone callback. For time consuming operations, where the amount of time between PercentDone callbacks are long, AbortCheck callbacks may be used to allow for the operation to be aborted in a more responsive manner.

The abort output argument provides a means for aborting the operation. Setting it to True will cause the method to abort and return a failed status (or whatever return value indicates failure).

Args are passed using Chilkat.PercentDoneEventArgs

Event callback implementation:

Dim WithEvents codesign As Chilkat.CodeSign

Private Sub codesign_OnPercentDone(sender As Object, args As Chilkat.PercentDoneEventArgs) Handles codesign.OnPercentDone

    ...

End Sub
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ProgressInfo
Event OnProgressInfo

A general name/value event that provides information about what is happening during a method call. To find out what information is available, write code to handle this event and log the name/value pairs. Most are self-explanatory.

Args are passed using Chilkat.ProgressInfoEventArgs

Event callback implementation:

Dim WithEvents codesign As Chilkat.CodeSign

Private Sub codesign_OnProgressInfo(sender As Object, args As Chilkat.ProgressInfoEventArgs) Handles codesign.OnProgressInfo

    ...

End Sub
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TaskCompleted
Event OnTaskCompleted

Called in the background thread when an asynchronous task completes.

More Information and Examples

Args are passed using Chilkat.TaskCompletedEventArgs

Event callback implementation:

Dim WithEvents codesign As Chilkat.CodeSign

Private Sub codesign_OnTaskCompleted(sender As Object, args As Chilkat.TaskCompletedEventArgs) Handles codesign.OnTaskCompleted

    ...

End Sub
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