A digital signature is a block of encrypted information added to certain files to identify the originator (author) and indicate whether a file has been altered since the digital signature was applied.
Executable binary or text (script) files with digital signatures provide the following benefits:
- Users of executable files are provided with reliable information about who created the files, and that they haven't been modified to contain malicious code.
- Authors of executable files are provided with reliable verification that they have not been modified since they were digitally signed.
- You can examine a file's digital signature through a chain of trust back to the root certificate issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA)
Invalid Digital Signatures
A digital signature will become invalid for the following reasons:
- The file was modified after the digital signature was attached.
- The file was corrupted in transit or when the digital signature was attached.
- The digital certificate was revoked by the certificate authority.
Note: Renaming a file does not invalidate its digital signature. Also, a digital signature remains valid even after the expiration of the certificate used to generate it.
Digital Signatures and Binary Files Associated With 3ds Max
The following file types in the 3ds Max product distribution are executable, and have been digitally signed to better protect you: EXE, DLL, DLZ, DLU, DLO, DLM, DLC, DLI, DLT, DLE, DLV, DLK, DLB, DLF, DLR, BMF, BMI, BMS, FLT, GUP, DLH, DLN, DLA, DLS, DLY, DLX.
The digital signature for executable files can be accessed by right-clicking the file, clicking Properties, the Digital Signatures tab, the name of the signer and the Details button, and then View Certificate. Note that the file extension must be .DLL for this to work, so the recommended approach is to make a copy of the file and change its extension to .DLL, then check the File Properties.
For example, this is what this File Properties dialog looks like for 3dsmax.exe:
Digital Signatures and MAXScript files
All MAXScript files shipped with 3ds Max are signed with a digital certificate. A signed script allows users to confirm who wrote the script, and whether changes were made to it after it was signed.
File types that can be signed are:
- MAXScript files: .ms, .mxs, .mcr
- MAXScript resource files: .ms.res, .mxs.res, .mcr.res
3ds Max also ships with a verification tool, AdskSignTool.exe, which you can use to verify these files.
You can view a general usage message by running AdskSignTool without any arguments.
See Verifying Signed Scripts for additional information.