Known Issue: "The publisher could not be verified" Alert Appears When Installing Carbonite on Older Operating Systems

Summary:

When you install Carbonite on an older Windows operating system, you may see security warning: “The publisher could not be verified. Are you sure you want to run this software?”

This article applies to:

Carbonite Plans	Products	Platforms
Basic, Plus, Prime, Core, Power, and Ultimate (Not sure?)	Safe and Safe Pro (Not sure?)	Windows

This impacts the following Windows versions:

• Windows XP
• Windows Server 2003
• Windows Vista
• Windows 7
• Windows Server 2008

Cause:

Microsoft used SHA-1, a digital certificate, to determine whether an installer file has been tampered or damaged. Due to the weakness in the algorithm, Microsoft no longer uses SHA-1 security certificates to authenticate installer files like Carbonite.

Beginning September 8, 2021, Carbonite will only use the more secure SHA-2 security certificate. However, Microsoft only supports this on modern Windows operating systems.

Solution:

If you use one of the impacted Windows operating systems above, please follow the steps below:

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008

1. Download and install the latest Windows updates.
   • Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 & Server 2008 on January 14, 2020.
2. If Carbonite is not already installed, reinstall Carbonite.
   • Reinstall Carbonite Safe
   • Reinstall Carbonite Safe Backup Pro

Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2003

1. Upgrade to an operating system that supports SHA-2 security certificates.

	Supports SHA-1 Security Certificates	Supports SHA-2 Security Certificates
Windows XP	Yes	x
Windows Server 2003	Yes	x
Windows Vista	Yes	x
Windows 7	Yes	Yes, but with latest Windows updates
Windows Server 2008	Yes	Yes, but with latest Windows updates
Windows 8	x	Yes
Windows 8.1	x	Yes
Windows 10	x	Yes
Windows Server 2019	x	Yes

2. Upgrade to an operating system that supports SHA-2 security certificates.
   • Reinstall Carbonite Safe
   • Reinstall Carbonite Safe Backup Pro