A few questions about CAPICOM?

Hello all!

I like having Windows Update and Office Update separated but I thought that I might try Microsoft Update and today I "converted ". (I can roll back using Ghost if I don't like it). I was pretty sure that my system was up-to-date and with one exception, Windows as well as Office was up-to-date.

The exception was an Update for Windows, CAPICOM (Cryptographic API Component Object Model) KB931906 which wasn't offered on Windows Update a few moments earlier. I downloaded it and started my investigation.

A search in Windows Explorer revealed C:\WINDOWS\system32\capicom.dll version 2.0.0.3.

I installed the update which installed a single file into C:\Program Files\Microsoft CAPICOM 2.1.0.2\Lib\X86\capicom.dll version 2.1.0.2. The original file in C:\WINDOWS\system32\capicom.dll is still version 2.0.0.3.

Two questions:

What is CAPICOM and what does it do?

What did KB931906 do since it didn't change the original file?

Christer

 

I never heard of it either..

Microsoft Developer Network
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms995332.aspx

 

Steve,
thanks for the link (lazy me)!

During the installation, I noticed that the installer wrote to the registry. Maybe the registry now points to the new file rather than the old one. (I will check that in a moment.)

Do you use Microsoft Update?

Has KB931906 been installed on your system?

Christer

 

A search in the registry for "capicom" revealed a few keys with uninstall information in

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\KB931906

but nothing else (no reference to capicom.dll). It seems like the update did nothing whatsoever but waste my time.

Am I the only one who has received this generous offer from Microsoft Update?

Christer

 

In C:\Windows\ there is neither a $NtUninstallKB931906$-folder nor a KB931906.log ... ... !

Christer

 

I checked two XP machines and didn't find it...But I was looking in the Windows folder...

 

The original capicom.dll on my system is in C:\WINDOWS\system32\ and it has the "created date" when I installed XP SP2 (came from the install-CD).

Christer

 

Download details

KB931906

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS07-028

Christer

 

Using CAPICOM and specifically Getting Ready to Use CAPICOM indicate that the user him-/herself has to register capicom.dll.

Since the original file hasn't been registered, the system cannot use it (right?) and for the same reason, neither can the system use the new file.

... ... Christer ... ...

 

Anyone else out there who has been offered this update (KB931906)?

(I checked blackbudget's list in Some Updates Could Not Be Installed (85) and KB931906 is not included.)

Christer

 

From post #7:

When I installed the system, I created Ghost Images at certain stages. Yesterday, I restored them one by one until "capicom.dll" appeared. The first Image was of XP SP2 clean and "capicom.dll" wasn't there which makes the quoted conclusion wrong. Not until restoring the fourth Image did "capicom.dll" appear and with it a load of registry entries. The additions to the system in the fourth Image was Norton Internet Security 2003, Norton SystemWorks 2003 and Norton Ghost 2003.

It seems like the Norton Removal Tool does a great job. It removed all the registry entries but ... ... failed to delete the file. Yours truly has finished the task ... ... !

Christer