Chapter 17
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Microsoft licenses logos for display by qualifying products and their marketing
materials. To earn the right to display a logo, the manufacturer must submit test
logs that demonstrate that the product meets Microsoft’s standards for compat-
ibility, reliability, and security.
Benefits of a Windows logo include increased customer confidence in the prod-
uct, the ability to distribute drivers via Windows Update, listing the product on
Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace, and inclusion in the Windows Logo'd Prod-
ucts List and Windows Server Catalog.
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To qualify for a Windows logo, a USB device must pass a series of tests based on
the USBCV tests from USB-IF. Other tests deal with device installation and for
vendor-provided drivers, driver reliability. Devices such as printer, keyboard,
and storage device have function-specific tests.
Each Windows family (such as Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server
2008) has its own logo. Recent Windows editions support two logo versions.
For example, under Windows Vista, products that meet baseline requirements
can earn the Works with Windows Vista logo, while products that meet more rig-
orous requirements for ease of use, performance, and security can earn the Cer-
tified for Windows Vista logo.
Standard device functions each have a logo program with function-specific
requirements. Devices that don’t fit a category with a logo program can’t display
a Windows logo, but the manufacturer can submit the driver to Microsoft’s
Unclassified Signature program to obtain a digital signature. A submitted driver
must pass tests on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows editions.
The Windows Logo Kit (WLK) is a set of tools that developers can use to test
devices and drivers on Windows. The kit is a free download from Microsoft.
Obtaining a license to display a Windows logo requires following these steps:
1. Download the WDK and WLK from Microsoft.
2. Obtain a code-signing ID and set up an organizational account with
Microsoft’s Windows Quality Online Services (Winqual) program. One form
of code-signing ID is a Microsoft Authenticode Code Signing Digital ID. This
ID is a digital certificate that a manufacturer can also use to sign driver files as
described later in this chapter. A lower cost option is a VeriSign Organizational