OSR

Hi, I'm Garrett, Principal PM on the Windows Hardware Program. If you're a partner having trouble regaining access to Hardware Dev Center after account verification, we've put a temporary process in place to speed up reinstatement. You can learn more at aka.ms/HDC-Account-Ve…

Driver Signing Judgment Day Update For anyone still stuck in driver signing limbo there's new guidance for how to get out on the HDC blog: techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/hardware-… And if THAT doesn't help there's a form to fill our to expedite your review: forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/Response… Given that our account is reinstated already we have no experience going these routes. We'll continue to keep the visibility up so let us know if you have any success or trouble...

And we're back to being able to sign and release our drivers 🙌 Thanks to @shanselman (and others at MS) for helping to expedite. We're looking for guidance on how folks should escalate their current dashboard access issues. Will update once we know more...

With respect that’s pure nonsense. First, a blog post is not reasonable notice to a finite list of companies many of whose customers — some in critical situations — depend on their ability to sign drivers. Next, when we logged on in October and saw the banner, found our signing access restricted, we immediately completed the verification process and were once again able to sign drivers. Then, suddenly and with no notice or warning, as we were preparing to release an update for our customers, we discovered we didn’t have signing access anymore. All the domain admins in OSR didn’t miss the email. It was either never sent, or it never got to our M365-hosted Outlook in boxes. Finally, directing people to a generic support page that asks you to engage with a chat bot is insulting. This problem is waaaay beyond that level. We need something more like “Email the details of your problem to first.last@microsoft.com and we’ll get this resolved with our apologies. There are multiple, well known, reputable, companies that have been impacted the same way. It’s not just us here at OSR. Telling us “it’s not us, it’s you… yes, all of you… and you, and you…” just doesn’t seem too credible, you know?

Thanks, Tim. We’ve seen these reports and are actively working to resolve this as quickly as possible. We’ve reached out to VeraCrypt and have spoken to Jason at WireGuard, they should be back up and running soon. Some background on this, this is all part of our ongoing efforts to help protect customers and the Windows ecosystem. We published a blog last October that shared we would require account verification for all partners in the Windows Hardware Program who had not completed account verification since April 2024. Other platform vendors are doing the same. We worked hard to make sure partners understood this was coming, from emails, banners, reminders. And we know that sometimes things still get missed. We're taking this as an opportunity to review how we communicate changes like this and make sure we're doing it better. If anyone needs help with reinstatement, they can request support here, learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-…

Just Microsoft things... Recently they terminated the VeraCrypt developer's Microsoft account. VeraCrypt is a free and open-source disk encryption software that performs on-the-fly encryption (OTFE) to create virtual encrypted disks, encrypt partitions, or secure entire storage devices.

@number201724 We’re certainly not fans of code obfuscation in kernel mode but there clearly needs to be more transparency across the board here. And a better way to communicate and raise issues than being slow walked through email support (if you’re lucky to even get that far).

@OSRDrivers Not at all—I even specifically checked the documentation, and there was no notice whatsoever.

After 30+ years of signing windows drivers, we have been locked out of driver signing like many other companies. In a word, the disrespect and disregard with which MSFT is treating IHVs and ISVs is stunning. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s because we didn’t read our emails or submit the right verification paperwork. Cuz we did all that back in October. And this month, we were suddenly and without any warning locked out. Support said they’d “do their best” to let us know “within 90 days” if we’re good enough to get back on. In the meantime, many thousands of desktops and instruments are not being updated, cuz we can’t sign drivers. Awesome job, Microsoft. Thanks.

@number201724 Interesting. Opinions on code obfuscators aside, is there a formal statement that lists this restriction? And if so does it describe what method do they use to scan for it? Hadn't heard this before now.

@OSRDrivers In December 2025, they classified drivers protected with VMProtect, Themida, or Virtualizer as malware or potential vulnerabilities without providing any notification.

@brucedang Maybe once we get our access back and have successfully scraped Peter off the ceiling...

@OSRDrivers :( This should be a topic for "Peter Pontificates"

@brucedang Here's all the explanation we got...Which is confusing given that we went through verification in January and everything seemed OK. Between then and early March something was "lost" though because suddenly were no longer verified

@OSRDrivers That's messed up. I'd be angry too. Did they say why you got locked out?

@shanselman We do have a ticket ID for our latest support interaction that we can provide if helpful. Trying to understand what "evidence" needs provided that somehow wasn't collected in January...

@shanselman No we did NOT get unblocked. We’ve been asking for help for weeks. Literally. Internally and via suppport channel. The last notice we got was they’ll tell us if we were verified in “90 days” if that’s practical. We’re dead in the water and can’t update our customers.

Hey I love dumping on my company as much as the next guy, because Microsoft does some dumb stuff, but sometimes it's just check emails and verify your accounts. Not every "WTF micro$oft" moment is a slam dunk. I've emailed VeraCrypt personally and we'll get him unblocked. I've already talked to Jason at WireGuard. Not everything is a conspiracy, sometimes it's literally paperwork.

Update regarding Driver Verifier not working in Windows 11: It seems like this "not working" behavior is restricted to when you enable DV via the GUI interface. If you use the command line it works as it should! Updated blog post: osr.com/blog/2024/05/0…

@codingonroids Agree. But Windows Driver Verifier isn't only useful for WDM. It is also extremely useful for WDF, MiniFilters, and many other driver models. See the example in our blog post... which is a WDF driver.

@codingonroids Well, WDM driver development is, itself, pretty badly outdated, right?? The only book that's even REASONABLY decent is the one by Walter Oney. But it has some significant flaws, particularly in its treatment of Power Management.

Driver Verifier, everyone's favorite tool for driver quality, is effectively broken in Windows 11. Seriously. osr.com/blog/2024/05/0…

OSR's 2022 Public Seminar Schedule (Q1/Q2) - mailchi.mp/osr/osr-2022-s…

OSR's File System Minifilter and WDF Seminar Schedule - mailchi.mp/osr/osrs-file-…

@binpwn Actually, about 50% of our consulting/development clients are outside the US. We try REALLY hard not to be one of those typical "US-centric" companies. But, SOMEtimes... ANYhow, thanks for understanding. Send an email and we'll get you squared away.

@OSRDrivers Ha! Understandable you are focused on the US. I find it funny this is a very typical "works on my machine" bug. I will send that email shortly.

@OSRDrivers will USB FX2 Learning Kit ever be available again?

@binpwn OK.. I checked with my colleagues: Sorry to be so US-centric. Apparently, Amazon *is* setup only to ship to the US.I don't know why. You can email "seminars@osr.com" and arrange to order these boards to be shipped outside the USA Thanks for asking; Sorry for the annoyance.

@OSRDrivers Is it only shipping to the US by any chance?

@binpwn I hate to use a famous line but... "it works for me"...

@OSRDrivers uhh?