<?php http_response_code(404); exit; ?>
---
title: About
date: 2026-10-23 21:21
updated: 2026-10-25 23:36
status: published
type: page
tags: []
image: /~daemondevin/portableapps/uploads/2026/10/portableapps-6d7527.png
---

I build portable versions of Windows apps. This page explains how I do it, what I promise about every release, and how to stop Windows warning you about them.
 
## What PAC-MAN is
 
PAC-MAN stands for **PortableApps Compiler & Management**. It is the launcher framework I use for my portable apps. It is built on top of the official PortableApps.com Launcher (PAL), not instead of it, and it is **not** associated with PortableApps.com. If you have a problem with one of my launchers, please bring it to me and not to them.
 
PAL deliberately leaves out apps that need to reach deep into Windows. PAC-MAN is for those. A launcher built with it can handle:
 
- Windows services, scheduled tasks, DLL and COM registration, and device drivers
- Registry and file system redirection, including 32 and 64 bit, plus fragile registry keys that are copied to a safe place before the app starts
- Symlinks, junctions and hardlinks
- Fonts that are installed when the app starts and removed when it closes
- Firewall rules, Java, Ghostscript, Qt and XML configuration
- Cleanup of leftover files and folders after the app exits

Each of these is its own segment, and a launcher only contains the segments it turns on, so a simple app does not carry the weight of a complex one. When an app needs something unusual, there is a hook for custom code.
 
The point of all of it is that the app behaves like a guest on your machine. It runs from its own folder or drive, and when you close it, your system goes back to how it was, even if the app crashed on the way out.
 
## My promise: no cracked software
 
Every release I publish is made from software obtained legitimately. That means:
 
- **No cracks, keygens, patched binaries or license bypasses.** Ever.
- **No repackaged pirated installers.** If an app needs a license, you bring your own, or it ships as the vendor's own free or trial edition.
- **The app itself is not modified** to remove protections, ads, checks or telemetry unless the vendor allows it, and if I do change something, the release notes say so.
- **What I add is the launcher.** The PAC-MAN launcher, its settings and its cleanup are my work, and you can read what they do.
If you ever find a release of mine that breaks this promise, tell me and I will pull it.
 
## Signed releases and the warning you may see
 
I sign my launchers with a code signing certificate, using the signing tools built into PAC-MAN. The signature proves two things: the file came from me, and it has not been changed since I signed it. If someone tampers with a release or passes off their own build as mine, the signature breaks.
 
My certificate is not one that Windows trusts out of the box, so the first time you run one of my launchers, Windows may warn you about an unknown publisher. That warning is Windows saying it does not know me yet. It is not saying the file is bad.
 
## Stop the warnings
 
If you trust my releases and want the warnings to go away, add my certificate to your certificate manager.
 
1. **Download the certificate:** [daemon.devin certificate](https://envs.net/~daemondevin/portableapps/uploads/daemon.devin.p7b)
2. **Check it is mine** before you trust it. Open the file, go to the **Details** tab and compare the **Thumbprint** with this one: `070f1dc3f30dd5da9beae822cf2de256b8ad434b`. If they differ, do not install it.
3. Press **Win + R**, type `certmgr.msc` and press Enter. (This installs it for your account only. Use `certlm.msc` to install it for every user on the PC, which needs administrator rights.)
4. Open **Trusted Root Certification Authorities**, right-click **Certificates**, choose **All Tasks → Import**, and pick the file I gave you.
5. Repeat the import into **Trusted Publishers**.
6. Run one of my launchers. The unknown publisher warning should be gone.
A few honest notes:
 
- **Only do this if you trust me.** A certificate in your trusted store tells Windows to believe whatever is signed with it. That is the whole idea, and it is also why you should check the thumbprint and not take a certificate from anyone else's page.
- **You can undo it any time.** Open the same store, find my certificate, and delete it.
- **It will not hide everything.** Windows SmartScreen judges downloads by reputation as well as signature, so a brand new download can still get a prompt even from a trusted publisher. Choose **More info → Run anyway** once for that file.
- **Your antivirus may still flag a launcher** now and then, because launchers write to the registry and start services, which is also what malware does. If you want to be sure, check the signature before you run anything: right-click the file, choose **Properties → Digital Signatures**, and check the signer is me.
Thanks for using my releases.