# Azure Artifact Signing

10 Hacker News commenters recommended Azure Artifact Signing and 15 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Cheap Windows code signing, about $10 a month, with no certificates to buy or renew. Caveat: individual signups are limited to the US and Canada.

## Why people recommend it

- Cheaper than traditional code signing certificates (3 comments): "Windows signing was an expensive nightmare before, but is now relatively painless and down to $10/mo" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45855364)) "This is wild, thank you so much!! I was struggling with these costs for a long time!!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46657058)) "Instead of hundreds or thousands for a cert it's $10/month" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46182764))
- Simpler than traditional code signing (3 comments): "my code signing cert via Azure (no Microsoft store account required, can be used to self-publish binaries/installers the old fashion way)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47705317)) "I just migrated to MS artifact signing and, thank the lord, had an actually easier time getting verified" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47695190)) "you don't need to worry about procuring or renewing code signing certs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47480340))
- Best Windows signing option (2 comments): "So yeah, Azure Trusted Signing or EV certificate is the way to go on Windows." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46199381)) "Azure Trusted Signing is 100% the best choice" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46182861))

## What people warn about

- SmartScreen warnings on signed installers (5 comments): "we've been seeing inconsistent SmartScreen warnings for our apps that previously had stable reputation via Azure Artifact Signing certificates" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48039355)) "Silent CA migration (EOC CA 02 → AOC CA 03) around March 21-23 broke SmartScreen for all affected Trusted Signing customers." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48090557)) "since a month ago installers signed with it often display SmartScreen warnings" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48083858))
- Identity verification failures, little support (4 comments): "Obfuscating why they revoked trust (as is apparently the case) and leaving the phone ringing is hurting trust in MS as a CA" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47687711)) "they messed up the verification of one of the legitimate documents, and there was no way to reach them" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47694338)) "after spending one hour on outdated doc on how to set it up I get hit with Identity validation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46820778))
- Individual signups limited to US, Canada (3 comments): "they don't actually support individual users in the EU (only in US & Canada, meanwhile EU only gets support for organizations)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48078077)) "Last time I checked it's still US/Canada only." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45855449)) "US and Canada residents only, sadly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47482813))
- Needs business or entity for years (2 comments): "this requires you to own a business for 3+ years, which makes it a non-starter for indie apps" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47482429)) "you need to have a proper legal entity for about 2 years before this becomes an option" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46193298))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [SignPath](https://hackerapproved.com/p/signpath.md): 5 recommend
- [Sigstore](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sigstore.md): 5 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Azure Artifact Signing", https://hackerapproved.com/p/azure-artifact-signing/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).