The Business of Software

I am trying to get a code signing certificate from Comodo and they are asking for a landline phone bill. I simply do not have any landline numbers registered on my company name. Are there any virtual phone number services that will send phone bills?

Alternatively, do you know any other code signing certificate certificate provider that does not ask for phone number verification and is similarly priced?

Thanks.

http://www.startssl.com/

I've recently used them. Cheap. Does what it says on the tin. Great support from real people.

Tim, thanks.

Just to confirm, we are talking about code signing certificates not SSL certificates for web sites, right? I cannot seem to find code signing certs on startssl site.

How in the blue blazes do they know it's a landline?  And, like Dilbert said very recently, let me take my time travel machine back to 2005 when landlines were relevant.

(I can also tell you that I don't and won't have a landline for my own businesses)

>How in the blue blazes do they know it's a landline?

In the USA, at least, land lines and cellular have different "prefixes".

In a number 415-555-1234, the 555 is the "prefix".

I would assume there are similar mechanisms in other countries.

@cal

Nope.  I have a landline @ my home that is now VOIP.  I can change it to a mobile number any time I want.  The same goes for my mobile number(s).  I can migrate them to VOIP or another carrier @ my discretion.

15 years ago, your answer was correct.  Number portability has changed all that.

We use Comodo for our code signing certs and have found them to be pretty responsive. Have you explained your situation to someone at Comodo to see if your business phone that isn't a land line will be acceptable?

Also, there is no way to tell a land line by the number. We transferred our land line home phone number to a cell account a couple of years ago.

I've used Comodo before, and they've taken my mobile phone bill.  But that was for a certificate in my own name, not my company name.  Not sure if the same requirements apply for businesses...

I think the whole purpose is to establish you have a physical presence and aren't just operating virtually and anonymously, as malicious software writers tend to do.

>Just to confirm, we are talking about code signing certificates not SSL certificates for web sites, right? I cannot seem to find code signing certs on startssl site.

Yes, they do the whole thing. I use my Startcom certs for codesigning and for signing email.

And look here:

http://www.startssl.com/?app=40

See the row "Object code signing"

hello there,

we're using Comodo too: what they required from us is that you're the one paying the bill of the phone number written in the signature of your email.

I had a similar problem, told my story, got 2-3 mixed answers but in the end got my code.

Honestly my adventure with Comodo didn't start in the best way possible, cause their customer support works in a messy way (emails are distributed randomly among the dpt. so whenever I started telling a story per email, I had to start allover again...), but since I was a mess too (I used the wrong number and the wrong email, at least twice :-D ) and got my code, I guess I shouldn't complain at all!

A.

Thanks everyone.

Tim, I am going to give StartSSL a try, they look promising.