Sleeper: Strange Error Message for Digital Signature

[Jacob Hilderbrand]

Does anyone have any idea what would cause this error message? I signed the project and it was working fine, then all of a sudden for whatever reason I get the error shown below.

I wasn't modifying the VBA project at all.

[Ken Puls]

Hi Jacob,

I have seen that error before, but I don't know if the circumstances are similar to yours or not. I'm using self cert, not a full-up signature, but my situation is as follows:

I develop on a Win XP machine, running Office Pro 2003. For all users who have the same setup, I install my dig signature, and can then trust my code to run. Naturally, if I encounter a bug in my code on their machines, and fix it, it tosses the signature, and I have to resign it on my machine.

I also have users on Windwoes 2000 Terminal Server, running Office 97 Pro. I have not found a way to install the digital signature there. When I troubleshoot code on that platform, and save the file, it does not strip the signature, though. When I open it back up in XL 2003 on my machine, though, I get the exact same error you got.

I have always assumed that it is because 97 does not work well with digital signature, but could be corrected on that.

Hopefully that helps a bit.

Oh, and resigning the project on my machine fixes the error too.

Cheers,

[Jacob Hilderbrand]

What's strange is the self cert sig that I used was on the PC that I first got the error on. All PCs are XP and all Excel versions are 2002. I got rid of the sig and that got rid of the error.

[Ken Puls]

Hi Jacob,

Recently I built an app for my father using some VBA, and signed it with a self cert digital signature. Three days ago, this error started popping up. I've been trying to figure out what changed on the PC he uses, which is difficult as it is shared between several users. (Actually, even getting the full error text was difficult as Dad refers to those messages as "some kind of gobbledeegook".):roll:

The difference for me here is that this is the first time I've seen this corrupt on a Win XP platform...

So a question for you. You're using Win XP, but what service pack version are you running. I'm wondering if this conincides with an update to SP2?

Thanks,

[Jacob Hilderbrand]

It was on Windows XP. I'm not 100% sure what Service Pack, but they are updated frequently so probably the latest one.

[Ken Puls]

I sent me Dad off chasing the SP version today, so will probably hear back from him tonight. I'll post back when I know.

We've actually blocked all the SP2 downloads here, as my IT consultants think it causes too many problems. I haven't heard about Excel issues specifically, but I'm curious...

I'm going to do some more digging on this, I think...

[Ken Puls]

Okay, well I found my issue... it isn't SP2, as they're running SP1 still.

The following is an excerpt from the file sent back to me:


Private Sub dbSearch()
' IVSGN90C5453C *********************
' Deactivated by InVircible ******************
' ***************
End Sub

Private Sub dbShowAll()
' Deactivated by InVircible *********
' Deactivated by InVircible **********
' ******************
' Deactivated by InVircible **********
' ***************************
' **********
End Sub

Sub Tools_Version()
' Deactivated by InVircible *********
' Deactivated by InVircible *********************************
' ****************
End Sub


So truly, a macro virus (of sorts) has affected my file... and I am not very pleased. :viking: Every module, every line, except API's, has been gutted as shown above.

Here's the link to InVircible http://invircible.com/invircible.php :mad: So far, I have not found anything on the site about this functionality with regards to Excel specifically.

I will be recommending switching AV software to Symantec, as I simply cannot afford to get a real digital signature in hopes that it may solve the issue. (Actually, couldn't even afford it if it was a guarantee.)

Ken

[Ken Puls]

I just wanted to set the record straight on Invircible...

I got to visit the PC that has it last weekend, and play with the settings a bit. One thing to be aware of if you're installing anything to an Invircible laden machine is that it doesn't make any distinction between add-ins or normal Excel files at all. I also tested it to see if a password protected vbProject would save my file from the butchering, but Invircible overwrote all the code in it anyway.

Fortunately, it does have a couple of exclusion options available in the program (although I couldn't find this on their website). Files can be excluded by name (MyMacroLadenFile.xls), or by directory (c:\MacroFiles), and actually the interface to find the exclusion list is fairly intuitive. I was able to solve my issue by flagging an exception for my add-in.

I will say the Invircible seems very effective and very customizable, but I still remain a fan of Symantec.