{"id":39,"date":"2023-02-12T16:47:21","date_gmt":"2023-02-12T16:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blognew\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T13:40:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T13:40:13","slug":"how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error","title":{"rendered":"How to Fix the Unknown Publisher Warning with a Code Signing Certificate?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 ez-toc-wrap-right counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error\/#What_is_an_Unknown_Publisher_Warning\" >What is an Unknown Publisher Warning?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error\/#Heres_how_to_fix_the_unknown_publisher_warning_with_a_code_signing_certificate\" >Here&rsquo;s how to fix the unknown publisher warning with a code signing certificate:<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 mb-3 p-2\">\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_an_Unknown_Publisher_Warning\"><\/span>What is an Unknown Publisher Warning?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When you download software from the internet, you may have encountered the &ldquo;Unknown Publisher&rdquo; warning. This warning appears when the software you are installing doesn&rsquo;t have a digital signature from a trusted certificate authority. This warning can be a red flag for many users, causing them to abandon the installation process altogether.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, there is a simple solution to this issue: using a code signing certificate. Code signing certificates are digital certificates issued by certificate authorities that verify the identity of the software publisher and verify that the code has not been tampered with. This verification gives users the confidence to trust and install the software without encountering the &ldquo;Unknown Publisher&rdquo; warning.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Heres_how_to_fix_the_unknown_publisher_warning_with_a_code_signing_certificate\"><\/span>Here&rsquo;s how to fix the unknown publisher warning with a code signing certificate:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3>Obtain a code signing certificate<\/h3>\n<p>The first step to fixing the unknown publisher warning is to obtain a code signing certificate from a trusted certificate authority. There are several reputable certificate authorities that offer code signing certificates, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/sectigo-code-signing-certificate\">Sectigo<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/comodo-code-signing-certificate\">Comodo<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/digicert-code-signing-certificate\">DigiCert<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Sign your code<\/h3>\n<p>Once you have obtained your code signing certificate, the next step is to sign your code. This involves adding a digital signature to your software that verifies its authenticity and that it has not been tampered with. There are several tools available to help you sign your code, including <a href=\"https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows\/msix\/package\/sign-app-package-using-signtool\">Microsoft&rsquo;s SignTool<\/a> and OpenSSL.<\/p>\n<h3>Verify the signature<\/h3>\n<p>Finally, you need to verify that the digital signature is working and that the code has been signed correctly. This can be done by checking the properties of the software after installation and looking for the digital signature information.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/\">By using a code signing certificate<\/a>, you can eliminate the unknown publisher warning and provide users with a secure and trusted way to install your software. Code signing certificates help build trust and confidence in your software, making it more likely for users to download and install it.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, fixing the unknown publisher warning with a code signing certificate is a straightforward process. Obtaining a code signing certificate from a trusted certificate authority, signing your code, and verifying the signature are the key steps involved. By taking these steps, you can provide users with a secure and trusted way to install your software and avoid the unknown publisher warning.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-12 mt-5 mb-4\">\n<h4 class=\"text-primary mb-4 pb-2 border-bottom\">Related Articles<\/h4>\n<div class=\"row g-4\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you download software from the internet, you may have encountered the &ldquo;Unknown Publisher&rdquo; warning. This warning appears when the software you are installing doesn&rsquo;t have a di<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-code-signing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Fix the &quot;Unknown Publisher&quot; Warning<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stop the Unknown Publisher warning from scaring users away. Learn why it appears and how a code signing certificate resolves it.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Fix the &quot;Unknown Publisher&quot; Warning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stop the Unknown Publisher warning from scaring users away. Learn why it appears and how a code signing certificate resolves it.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CodeSignCert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/codesigncert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-12T16:47:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-24T13:40:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jessica Foster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@codesigncert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@codesigncert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jessica Foster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jessica Foster\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9af8cbd9dd564d4534f25cd63a48d02d\"},\"headline\":\"How to Fix the Unknown Publisher Warning with a Code Signing Certificate?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-12T16:47:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-24T13:40:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error\"},\"wordCount\":406,\"articleSection\":[\"Code Signing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error\",\"name\":\"How to Fix the \\\"Unknown Publisher\\\" Warning\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-12T16:47:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-24T13:40:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9af8cbd9dd564d4534f25cd63a48d02d\"},\"description\":\"Stop the Unknown Publisher warning from scaring users away. Learn why it appears and how a code signing certificate resolves it.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Fix the Unknown Publisher Warning with a Code Signing Certificate?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"CodeSignCert\",\"description\":\"All in One Code Signing Certificate Store\",\"alternateName\":\"Code Sign Cert\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9af8cbd9dd564d4534f25cd63a48d02d\",\"name\":\"Jessica Foster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/540326c0491587e08522922cbd7c078549e5cafa48300998cdd9613a30e2fec4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/540326c0491587e08522922cbd7c078549e5cafa48300998cdd9613a30e2fec4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/540326c0491587e08522922cbd7c078549e5cafa48300998cdd9613a30e2fec4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jessica Foster\"},\"description\":\"Jessica Foster is a contributing writer for the CodeSignCert blog, covering code signing, software security, and certificate management topics. She has 10 years of experience helping developers and businesses secure their software through code signing and related PKI solutions.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/codesigncert.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/jessicafoster\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Fix the \"Unknown Publisher\" Warning","description":"Stop the Unknown Publisher warning from scaring users away. Learn why it appears and how a code signing certificate resolves it.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Fix the \"Unknown Publisher\" Warning","og_description":"Stop the Unknown Publisher warning from scaring users away. Learn why it appears and how a code signing certificate resolves it.","og_url":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error","og_site_name":"CodeSignCert","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/codesigncert","article_published_time":"2023-02-12T16:47:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-24T13:40:13+00:00","author":"Jessica Foster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@codesigncert","twitter_site":"@codesigncert","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jessica Foster","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error"},"author":{"name":"Jessica Foster","@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9af8cbd9dd564d4534f25cd63a48d02d"},"headline":"How to Fix the Unknown Publisher Warning with a Code Signing Certificate?","datePublished":"2023-02-12T16:47:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-24T13:40:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error"},"wordCount":406,"articleSection":["Code Signing"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error","url":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error","name":"How to Fix the \"Unknown Publisher\" Warning","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-02-12T16:47:21+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-24T13:40:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9af8cbd9dd564d4534f25cd63a48d02d"},"description":"Stop the Unknown Publisher warning from scaring users away. Learn why it appears and how a code signing certificate resolves it.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/how-to-fix-unknown-publisher-error#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Fix the Unknown Publisher Warning with a Code Signing Certificate?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/","name":"CodeSignCert","description":"All in One Code Signing Certificate Store","alternateName":"Code Sign Cert","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9af8cbd9dd564d4534f25cd63a48d02d","name":"Jessica Foster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/540326c0491587e08522922cbd7c078549e5cafa48300998cdd9613a30e2fec4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/540326c0491587e08522922cbd7c078549e5cafa48300998cdd9613a30e2fec4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/540326c0491587e08522922cbd7c078549e5cafa48300998cdd9613a30e2fec4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jessica Foster"},"description":"Jessica Foster is a contributing writer for the CodeSignCert blog, covering code signing, software security, and certificate management topics. She has 10 years of experience helping developers and businesses secure their software through code signing and related PKI solutions.","sameAs":["https:\/\/codesigncert.com"],"url":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/author\/jessicafoster"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83,"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39\/revisions\/83"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/codesigncert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}