12th October 2000

A while ago, I noted that the property sheet for a 32-bit EXE file often contains its extended properties (like version number, author, et al). Well, I inadvertently stumbled upon another tab which only shows up in archived installation EXEs (like self-extracting archives). Not sure if a downloaded EXE is pure? See if it has a 'Digital Signatures' tab when you select the file's icon and hit ALT+ENTER. Press the 'Details' button to get the goodies. Just because this tab doesn't exist doesn't imply that it's a bad archive, though. Want more? Fine. Ever see an MSI (Microsoft Installer) file? It may contain a 'Summary' sheet with relevant archive info. If an MSI file doesn't execute automatically for you, consider downloading 'Windows Installer' from msdn.microsoft.com.