Guardian Announces SHA-1 Deprecation For Its Products

What is SHA-1 and SHA-2, and deprecation of SHA-1?

SHA-1 & SHA-2 are algorithms a certificate uses to sign binaries, and Guardian also signs its binaries in the products. Guardian has been using dual (SHA-1 & SHA-2) code-signing for its products.

According to an announcement, Microsoft will no longer allow certificate providers to issue SHA-1 supported certificates. The SHA-1 hashing algorithm used for code-signing of Guardian products has expired on June 4, 2021, and we will use new credentials that only support the SHA-2 algorithm.

What will be the change in Guardian products?

All new software packages, hotfixes, or security patches of Guardian products created after June 4, 2021 will use only SHA-2 Certificate for code-signing. Please note: The changes do not affect any user experience and if you regularly install Windows updates, you do not have any action item.

What do I need to do?

Please find below the action items that are needed to be performed on specific operating systems:

1. Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2
   • Apply MS Patches KB4474419 and KB4490628 if not already installed.
   How to check if the required MS Patch is already installed or not?
   • Open Control Panel
   • Go to Windows Update
   • From the Windows update page, click on ‘View Update History.
2. Windows 8 and above
   • No action is required.
3. Windows Server 2012 and above
   • No action is required.
4. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003
   • No action is required.
5. Windows Vista
   • The latest Guardian product and feature update (fixes and enhancements) code-signed with SHA-2 will not be supported.
   • Users will continue to receive only virus definitions.
   • We recommend customers having Windows Vista upgrade to the latest operating systems.

Recommendation

We recommend using the latest version of operating systems to avoid the risk of exploits targeting vulnerabilities of the operating system. Windows operating systems that Microsoft no longer supports can be potentially vulnerable as Security patches/updates are not released for this operating system by Microsoft.

Reference

Availability of SHA-2 Code Signing Support for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

Guardian Support

Still, have queries? You can reach out to us at +91-86696-67399 or write to us at support@guardianav.co.in. You can also click here for further assistance.