Microsoft is dealing with complaints that it mysteriously suspended developer accounts utilized by the free, open-source disk encryption software program Veracrypt and the VPN protocol WireGuard, stopping them from rolling out software program updates.
In a discussion board put up, VeraCrypt developer Mounir Idrassi wrote that “Microsoft terminated the account I’ve used for years to signal Home windows drivers and the bootloader.”
A Microsoft developer account is required to certify third-party drivers for Home windows 10 and 11 software program. In any other case, the OS will flag it as an unsigned driver and block it from loading on the kernel degree. Idrassi hasn’t acquired a proof for the suspension, and it does not seem he can attraction the choice.
“Linux and macOS updates can nonetheless be carried out, however Home windows is the platform utilized by nearly all of customers, and so the lack to ship Home windows releases is a significant blow to the undertaking,” he says.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
It seems Idrassi isn’t alone. The creator of WireGuard, Jason Donenfeld, is dealing with the identical downside. “Certainly, I can not signal drivers, which implies I can not ship updates for WireGuard for Home windows. If there have been a vital vulnerability to repair proper now (there is not! I simply imply hypothetically), then customers can be completely uncovered,” he instructed PCMag in an e-mail.
Donenfeld encountered the problem about two weeks in the past whereas making ready to certify a brand new WireGuard kernel driver for Home windows. Nevertheless, Microsoft’s companion portal web site mysteriously stated his account had been deactivated, with out specifying why.
(Credit score: Jason Donenfeld)
Donenfeld finally found a Microsoft appeals course of, however he realized it takes 60 days for a response. His firm, Edge Safety, additionally took to social media, urging Microsoft to repair the issue. It seems to be just like the mounting complaints motivated Microsoft to behave. Donenfeld later instructed us: “I am speaking to Microsoft and so they’re sorting it out. Hopefully can be resolved quickly.”
Get Our Finest Tales!
Your Each day Dose of Our High Tech Information
Join our What’s New Now e-newsletter to obtain the newest information, finest new merchandise, and knowledgeable recommendation from the editors of PCMag.
Join our What’s New Now e-newsletter to obtain the newest information, finest new merchandise, and knowledgeable recommendation from the editors of PCMag.
By clicking Signal Me Up, you affirm you’re 16+ and comply with our Phrases of Use and Privateness
Coverage.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep watch over your inbox!
Earlier as we speak, Windscribe tweeted that Microsoft had additionally suspended its personal verified account, and has “been making an attempt to resolve this for over a month, and getting nowhere. Assist is non-existent. Anybody know a human with a mind that also works at Microsoft and may help?”
Scott Hanselman, a VP and Member of Technical Employees at Microsoft/GitHub, responded to Windscribe’s tweet, saying, “Needs to be mounted in a bit,” and added, “We have been sending everybody emails since October 2025.”
Really useful by Our Editors
Hanselman pointed to a Microsoft weblog put up noting that, beginning in October, the corporate started requiring “necessary account verification for all companions within the Home windows {Hardware} Program,” which additionally covers certifying software program drivers. Final month, the corporate up to date the put up to say: “Accounts that didn’t efficiently full account verification and acquired a Rejected verification standing have been suspended from the Home windows {Hardware} Program, and submissions from these accounts are not permitted.”
So it is potential the coverage led to the account crackdown. Nevertheless, Donenfeld instructed PCMag his account had already gone by means of the verification course of, however nonetheless acquired a suspension. The odd scenario threatens to harm Microsoft’s status whereas sparking debate over whether or not tech giants have an excessive amount of management over their software program ecosystems.
Donenfeld suspects forms is responsible. “I am in touch with the individuals there, and it looks as if they’re very on high of this snafu and are fixing it systematically. A kind of conditions of forms getting out of hand, and they also’re figuring it out,” he instructed PCMag.
On X, Hanselman countered that generally it is only a matter of checking emails and verifying your accounts. “Not each ‘WTF micro$oft’ second is a slam dunk,” he tweeted. “I’ve emailed VeraCrypt personally and we’ll get him unblocked. I’ve already talked to Jason at WireGuard. Not the whole lot is a conspiracy, generally it is actually paperwork.”
About Our Knowledgeable
Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
Expertise
I have been a journalist for over 15 years. I acquired my begin as a colleges and cities reporter in Kansas Metropolis and joined PCMag in 2017, the place I cowl satellite tv for pc web companies, cybersecurity, PC {hardware}, and extra. I am presently based mostly in San Francisco, however beforehand spent over 5 years in China, overlaying the nation’s know-how sector.
Since 2020, I’ve coated the launch and explosive development of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite tv for pc web service, writing 600+ tales on availability and have launches, but additionally the regulatory battles over the enlargement of satellite tv for pc constellations, fights with rival suppliers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the trouble to broaden into satellite-based cell service. I’ve combed by means of FCC filings for the newest information and pushed to distant corners of California to check Starlink’s mobile service.
I additionally cowl cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this 12 months, the FTC compelled Avast to pay customers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and promoting their private data to third-party shoppers, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I additionally cowl the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in entrance of a Finest Purchase to get an RTX 3000. I am now following how President Trump’s tariffs will have an effect on the business. I am all the time desperate to be taught extra, so please soar within the feedback with suggestions and ship me suggestions.
Learn Full Bio
