Publishing an application

Hello!

I am soon getting done with the first version of my application, and I want to publish it. However I have some questions regarding the publish feature in Visual Studio 2012. The reasons why I want to publish my application is to use the Update feature, so my users can check if there is any updates. However I need someone that can explain to me how this works.

I have a website where I want to put the installation files. Users will go to the website, and if they feel interested in my application they can choose to Download the setup. In order to do this, I should write the "Publish Folder Location" as my website directory where I've put the installation files right?

Secondly, when I want to update the application, I just change whatever I want in the project and then press "Publish Now", which will automaticly publish upload my new installation files and inform all the users that an update is available right?

Do I need to sign the application with some sort of certificate in order to prevent others from publishing my application? How do I create a certificate file? What happens if I don't use a certificate file?

By the way, I'll need to give the FTP user and password to Visual Studio right?

Thanks in before!