“Unknown Publisher”? Where did this dialog box come from?

re: “Unknown Publisher”? Where did this dialog box come from?

SamY — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:34:27 GMT

Are you seriously telling us that the only way to get the option to switch off these stupid prompts is to upgrade servers to 2008? I hope your next post gives us another way of achieving this. This has got to be one of the more stupid decisions MS has made. It doesn't improve security one jot and seriously pisses people off.

re: “Unknown Publisher”? Where did this dialog box come from?

stryqx — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:08:52 GMT

Good post. When you do the post for the IT Admins could you please CC it to the dev team responsible for SBS 2003 Remote Web Workplace so they can release a hotfix?

re: “Unknown Publisher”? Where did this dialog box come from?

dgeddes — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:47:51 GMT

Hi Strygx,

Since Windows Server 2003 does not send an RDP file to the client when making a connection, it is not possible to hide the prompt when using that operating system. With Windows Server 2008, the TS Web Access page will send an RDP file to the client, and you sign that RDP file with a digital certificate. This is what generates the last prompt in my post and allows the user to hide the dialog.

The only way to never see the dialog at all is to sign the RDP and also be running Vista SP1 as the client OS. You can then use a policy that recognizes the thumbprint in the certificate, causing the dialog to never appear. If you don't control the client connecting to the website though this is not practical.

The details of this are complex, so I'll be writing another blog soon to explain what you CAN do based on what operating system you are using, but there is currently no way to hide the dialog if the server is Windows Server 2003 and running the Remote Desktop Web Connection.

re: “Unknown Publisher”? Where did this dialog box come from?

Pete Wilson — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:30:33 GMT

I generally think Microsoft keeps a good balance between IT and end user experiences and needs, and I have to say this is one of the worst things I have seen Microsoft do in a while.

Everything about the new version of TSC has been a bad experience and a poor improvement, especially for IT. Considering the high likelihood of IT involvement in any Terminal Server scenario, I find this very, very disappointing.

Try coming up with a reasonable explanation for why Microsoft is forcing an infrastructure upgrade on Enterprises just so the end user can have a good experience. Or try explaining to Alan Cooper the sense of a dialog box that will always be answered the same way.

re: “Unknown Publisher”? Where did this dialog box come from?

Jon — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:32:50 GMT

"The short answer is that you can’t get rid of it, not without a little help from the web server administrator." - So how is it done?

re: “Unknown Publisher”? Where did this dialog box come from?

dgeddes — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 00:14:48 GMT

Hi Jon,

Please see the second part of this discussion where I talk about signing your RDP files and hiding the dialog:

http://blogs.technet.com/askperf/archive/2008/10/31/unknown-publisher-part-two.aspx

-Don Geddes