How do I sign a VBA Macro in MS Office with a timestamp?

A step-by-step instructions to sign a VBA Macro in MS Office with a timestamp

Prior to executing any further commands and tasks, you need to verify that your certificate is installed in the Windows CSP. For that, right-click on your PFX file and select Install or import through Internet Explorer by clicking on:

Follow these steps on how to sign VBA Macro with Timestamp:

• Internet Options menu -> Content -> Certificates -> Import.
• Now, open the VBA project that you want to sign. Go to the Tools menu and select Digital Signature.
• From that Digital Signature window, click “Choose” and select your PFX file.
• Click OK and Save.
• By now, your MS Office document is digitally signed.
• By default, the certificate is not time stamped in some of the platforms like Windows Vista and Windows 7. If you’re signing through those platforms below are the steps to timestamp:
• For timestamping your VBA macros by default, you must create a file named timestamp.bat and copy/paste these lines:

reg add "HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftVBASecurity" /v "TimeStampURL" /f /d

"http://timestamp.comodoca.com/authenticode"

reg add "HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftVBASecurity" /v "TimeStampRetryCount" /f /t REG_DWORD /d 2

reg add "HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftVBASecurity" /v "TimeStampRetryDelay" /f /t REG_DWORD /d 1

• Save the file and double-click to run it, then confirm Yes when prompted.

Note:

• A timestamp is an extra step, however a very critical and important one. It keeps your signature valid, even after the expiration of the certificate.
• To verify a timestamp on a signed macro, run the macro after setting the computer’s clock past the expiration date of the certificate. If it’s signed correctly, it will still run as signed.