Comodo Antivirus For Servers

• Introduction To Comodo Antivirus For Servers
  • Key Features
  • Supported Servers
  • Installation
  • Starting Comodo Antivirus For Servers
  • The Main Interface
    • The Home Screen
    • The Tasks Interface
    • The Widget
    • The System Tray Icon
    • Instant Assistance
  • Understanding Security Alerts
• General Tasks - Introduction
  • Scan And Clean Your Server
    • Run A Quick Scan
    • Run A Full Server Scan
    • Run A Rating Scan
    • Run A Custom Scan
      • Scan A Folder
      • Scan A File
      • Create, Schedule And Run A Custom Scan
  • Instantly Scan Files And Folders
  • Processing Infected Files
  • Manage Virus Database And Program Updates
  • View CAVS Logs
    • Antivirus Logs
      • Filtering Antivirus Logs
    • Defense+ Logs
      • Filtering Defense+ Logs
    • Alerts Logs
      • Filtering Alerts Displayed Logs
    • Tasks
      • Filtering Tasks Launched Logs
    • Configuration Changes
      • Filtering Configuration Changes Logs
  • Manage Quarantined Items
• Sandbox Tasks – Introduction
  • Run An Application In The Sandbox
  • Reset The Sandbox
  • View Active Process List
• Advanced Tasks - Introduction
  • Create A Rescue Disk
    • Downloading And Burning Comodo Rescue Disk
  • Submit Files
  • Identify And Kill Unsafe Running Processes
  • Remove Deeply Hidden Malware
  • Manage CAVS Tasks
• Advanced Settings
  • General Settings
    • Customize User Interface
    • Configure Program And Virus Database Updates
    • Log Settings
    • Manage CAVS Configurations
      • Comodo Preset Configurations
      • Importing/Exporting And Managing Personal Configurations
  • Security Settings
    • Antivirus Settings
      • Real-time Scanner Settings
      • Scan Profiles
      • Exclusions
    • Defense+ Settings
      • HIPS Behavior Settings
      • Active HIPS Rules
      • HIPS Rule Sets
      • Protected Objects
        • Protected Files
        • Blocked Files
        • Protected Registry Keys
        • Protected COM Interfaces
        • Protected Data Folders
      • HIPS Groups
        • Registry Groups
        • COM Groups
      • Sandbox
        • The Sandbox - An Overview
        • Unknown Files: The Scanning Processes
      • Configure The Sandbox
      • Configuring Rules For Auto-Sandbox
    • Manage File Rating
      • File Rating Settings
      • File Groups
      • File List
      • Submitted Files
      • Trusted Vendors List
• Appendix 1 - CAVS How To... Tutorials
  • Enable / Disable AV And Auto-Sandbox Easily
  • Setting Up The HIPS For Maximum Security And Usability
  • Create Rules For Auto-Sandboxing Applications
  • Running An Instant Antivirus Scan On Selected Items
  • Creating An Antivirus Scanning Schedule
  • Run Untrusted Programs In The Sandbox
  • Run Browsers Inside Sandbox
  • Restoring Incorrectly Quarantined Item(s)
  • Submitting Quarantined Items To Comodo For Analysis
  • Blocking Any Downloads Of A Specific File Type
  • Disable Auto-Sandboxing On A Per-application Basis
  • Switch Off Automatic Antivirus And Software Updates
• Appendix 2 - Glossary Of Common Terms
• About Comodo Security Solutions

Trusted Vendors List

In CAVS, there are two basic methods in which an application can be treated as safe. Either it has to be part of the 'Safe List' (of executables/software that is known to be safe) OR that application has to be signed by one of the vendors in the 'Trusted Software Vendor List'.

From this point:

• IF the vendor is on the Trusted Software Vendor List AND the user has enabled 'Trust Applications signed by Trusted Vendors' in the File rating Settings panel, THEN the application will be trusted and allowed to run.

• IF the vendor is not on the Trusted Software Vendor List OR the user has not enabled 'Trust Applications signed by Trusted Vendors' THEN the application will be sandboxed. If the application in question is an installer then CAVS will generate an elevated privilege alert.

Software publishers may be interested to know that they can have their signatures added, free of charge, to the 'master' Trusted Software Vendor List that ships to all users with Comodo Antivirus For Server. Details about this can be found at the foot of this page.

The 'Trusted Software Vendors' panel can be opened by clicking Security Settings > File Rating > Trusted Vendors.

 

You can use the search option to find a specific vendor in the list.

To use the search option, click the search icon  at the far right in the column header.

• Click the chevron on the left side of the column header and select the search criteria from the drop-down.

• Enter partly or fully the vendor's name in the search field.

• Click the right or left arrow at the far right of the column header to begin the search.

• Click the icon  in the search field to close the search option.
  

• Click here to read background information on digitally signing software

• Click here to learn how to Add / Define a user-trusted vendor

• Software Vendors - click here to find out about getting your software added to the list

Background

Many software vendors digitally sign their software with a code signing certificate. This practice helps end-users to verify:

1. Content Source: The software they are downloading and are about to install really comes from the publisher that signed it.

2. Content Integrity: That the software they are downloading and are about to install has not be modified or corrupted since it was signed.

In short, users benefit if software is digitally signed because they know who published the software and that the code hasn't been tampered with - that are are downloading and installing the genuine software.

The 'Vendors' that digitally sign the software to attest to it's probity are the software publishers. These are the company names you see listed in the first column in the graphic above.

However, companies can't just 'sign' their own software and expect it to be trusted. This is why each code signing certificate is counter-signed by an organization called a 'Trusted Certificate Authority'. 'Comodo CA Limited' and 'Verisign' are two examples of a Trusted CA's and are authorized to counter-sign 3rd party software. This counter-signature is critical to the trust process and a Trusted CA only counter-signs a vendor's certificate after it has conducted detailed checks that the vendor is a legitimate company.

If a file is signed by a Trusted Software Vendor and the user has enabled 'Trust Applications that are digitally signed by Trusted Software Vendors' then it will be automatically trusted by CAVS (if you would like to read more about code signing certificates, see http://www.instantssl.com/code-signing/).

One way of telling whether an executable file has been digitally signed is checking the properties of the .exe file in question. For example, the main program executable for CAVS is called 'CIS_Setup_R60AUG_6.3.290955.2906_x86.msi' and has been digitally signed.

• Browse to the (default) installation directory of CAVS.

• Right click on the setup file.

• Select 'Properties' from the menu.

• Click the tab 'Digital Signatures (if there is no such tab then the software has not been signed).       

This displays the name of the CA that signed the software as shown below:

Click the 'Details' button to view digital signature information. Click 'View Certificate' to inspect the actual code signing certificate. (see below).

It should be noted that the example above is a special case in that Comodo, as creator of 'CIS_Setup_R60AUG_6.3.290955.2906_x86.msi', is both the signer of the software and, as a trusted CA, it is also the counter-signer (see the 'Countersignatures' box). In the vast majority of cases, the signer or the certificate (the vendor) and the counter-signer (the Trusted CA) are different. See this example for more details.

Adding and Defining a User-Trusted Vendor

A software vendor can be added to the local 'Trusted Software Vendors' list in two ways:

• By reading the vendor's signature from an executable file on your local drive

• By reading the vendor's signature from a running process

To add a trusted vendor by reading the vendor's signature from an executable

• Click the handle from the bottom center and choose 'Add' > 'Read from a signed executable'

• Browse to the location of the executable your local drive. In the example below, we are adding the executable 'YahooMessenger.exe'.

On clicking 'Open', CAVS checks that the .exe file is signed by the vendor and counter-signed by a Trusted CA. If so, the vendor (software signer) is added to the Trusted Vendor list (TVL):

In the example above, CAVS was able to verify and trust the vendor signature on YahooMessenger.exe because it had been counter-signed by the trusted CA 'Symantec'. The software signer 'Yahoo! Inc.' is now a Trusted Software Vendor and is added to the list. All future software that is signed by the vendor 'Yahoo! Inc.' is automatically added to the Comodo Trusted Vendor list UNLESS you change this setting in File Rating Settings.

To add a trusted vendor from a currently running process

• Click the handle from the bottom center and choose 'Add' > 'Read from a running process'

• Select the signed executable that you want to trust and click the 'OK' button.

CAVS performs the same certificate check as described above. If the parent application of the selected process is signed, CAVS adds the vendor to the Trusted Software Vendors list.

If CAVS cannot verify that the software certificate is signed by a Trusted CA then it does not add the software vendor to the list of 'Trusted Vendors'. In this case, you can see the following error message.

Note: The 'Trusted Software Vendors' list displays two types of software vendors: User defined trusted software vendors - As the name suggests, these are added by the user via one of the two methods outlined earlier. These vendors can be removed by the user by selecting and clicking the 'Remove' button. Comodo defined trusted software vendors - These are the vendors that Comodo, in it's capacity as a Trusted CA, has independently validated as legitimate companies. If the user needs to remove any of these vendors from the list, it can be done by selecting the vendor, clicking 'Remove' and restarting the system. Please note that the removal will take effect only on restarting the system.

The Trusted Vendor Program for Software Developers

Software vendors can have their software added to the default Trusted Vendor List that is shipped with CAVS. This service is free of cost and is also open to vendors that have used code signing certificates from any Certificate Authority. Upon adding the software to the Trusted Vendor list, CAVS automatically trusts the software and does not generate any warnings or alerts on installation or use of the software.

The vendors have to apply for inclusion in the Trusted Vendors list through the sign-up form at http://internetsecurity.comodo.com/trustedvendor/signup.php and make sure that the software can be downloaded by our technicians. Our technicians check whether:

• The software is signed with a valid code signing certificate from a trusted CA;

• The software does not contain any threats that harm a user's PC;

before adding it to the default Trusted Vendor list of the next release of CAVS.

More details are available at http://internetsecurity.comodo.com/trustedvendor/overview.php