Vsign DSC Download Utility

The Vsign DSC download utility is the application that pulls your issued certificate from Vsign and writes it onto your USB token. The current release is version 3.4, and it is free to download here — no registration, no sign-up form.

You need this utility only if Vsign issued your certificate. Each Certifying Authority ships its own and they are not interchangeable — the Vsign utility will not download an eMudhra, (n)Code or Sify certificate. Utilities and forms for the other CAs are on the downloads page.

Install the token driver first

The utility writes your certificate onto a USB token, so Windows has to be able to see that token before you run it. If the driver is missing, the utility will start normally and then fail to find any token — which is what almost every “utility not working” call turns out to be.

The driver depends on the physical token you were given, not on Vsign. Look at the token or its packaging for the make — ePass, ProxKey, mToken, TrustKey, HyperPKI, Gemalto, StarKey or U-Key — and take the matching driver from the downloads page. If you are not sure what you are holding, the USB token guide describes what each one looks like.

How to install the utility

These are the steps from the readme included in the download.

1. Unzip the downloaded folder.
2. Right-click setup.exe and choose “Run as administrator.” The installer writes to protected folders and will fail part way through if you simply double-click it.
3. Click Yes at the Windows permission prompt.
4. Click Next.
5. Tick Create desktop shortcut, then click Next.
6. Click Install, and let it finish. Do not click Cancel while it is installing — a cancelled install leaves files behind that interfere with the next attempt.
7. Click Finish.

Downloading your certificate

1. Plug in your USB token.
2. Open the Vsign download utility.
3. Enter the reference or application number and the credentials issued when your certificate was approved.
4. Set the token password when prompted. Write it down somewhere safe — the certificate lives on the token, and neither we nor Vsign can recover or reset a forgotten token password. The certificate would have to be reissued.
5. The utility writes the certificate to the token and confirms when it is done.

You can download a certificate onto a token once. If the token is later formatted or the certificate deleted, it cannot be downloaded a second time.

If the utility does not detect your token

Work through these in order — the first two resolve the large majority of cases.

1. Install the token driver, then unplug and replug the token.
2. Try a different USB port, preferably one directly on the machine rather than a hub or an extension lead.
3. Close anything else holding the token open — another copy of the utility, a browser tab on a signing portal, or a CA’s own token manager.
4. Check Device Manager. A working token appears under smart card readers or as a smart card device. If it shows a yellow warning triangle, the driver has not installed cleanly — remove it and install it again.
5. Re-run the installer as administrator if you originally double-clicked it.

Version 3.4 and older versions

Version 3.4 is the release Vsign currently ships, and it is the copy above. Searches for “version 3.0” usually turn out to be an older installer someone saved locally; if you are troubleshooting, install 3.4 rather than an older build, because certificate profiles and root chains change over time and older utilities can fail against newly issued certificates.

If a filing portal specifically demands an older utility, call us before hunting for one — it is nearly always a token driver or browser configuration problem rather than a utility version problem, and the Internet Explorer and browser configuration guide usually settles it.