Windows security has come a long way and is better now than ever. SmartScreen isn’t new, but you probably never looked at this handy security feature before. Here is what you need to know.
There is more malware for Windows computers than for any other operating system or device. That is because it is so popular and there are so many Windows PCs around - it is a big target that attracts malware writers and scammers.
To help combat these, Windows has something called SmartScreen. It does not have many controls, but it does have some and parts can be turned off or on, or even ignored, as you prefer. Configure it to work the way you want.
Windows SmartScreen in Edge
Let’s see SmartScreen in action first. If you download a program from the internet, you might not be sure whether it is safe to run on the computer.
If you use Microsoft Edge browser in Windows 10, the file is checked by SmartScreen to see if it is a known safe program. If it is, the download proceeds as normal. However if a download is known malware or is simply unknown, it will not be downloaded. At the bottom of the Edge browser window is a message like this:
SmartScreen examines the file and if it is unrecognised or malicious, you are prompted to delete it. It is the safe thing to do. However, click the three dots to the right and there is an option to keep it. Click it.
It looks like the only option is to delete the file, but if you think SmartScreen is wrong and are sure that the file is safe, click Show more. In the screenshot you can see that SmartScreen blocked this app simply because it is not commonly downloaded. That does not mean it is bad.
There are now more options and you can either keep the file anyway or even report the app as safe. If enough people report it as safe, it will eventually stop triggering a SmartScreen warning.
Be careful when ignoring warnings and keeping downloads that triggered SmartScreen. It is true that it is over-cautious and is triggered by unknown files, which may be great apps, but on the other hand, the download could be malware. It just doesn’t know.
Windows SmartScreen
If you decide to keep a download or if you download a file using another browser, like Chrome or Firefox, SmartScreen may be triggered when you double click the file to run the program or installer.
The message says that SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app. It does not say malware or malicious, it is simply unknown. There are a lot of unknown programs on the internet and some are excellent and useful. Some are malware of course.
The safest way to proceed is to click Don’t run, but if you are sure that that the program is safe, click More info.
Clicking the More info link displays the publisher and application filename, and now there are Run anyway and Don’t run buttons.
This SmartScreen warning does not mean that the program is malware, such as a virus or spyware. It could be a false positive. SmartScreen is over cautious and the message simply means that the program is unrecognised, not that it is malware. If you are sure that it is OK, you can run it anyway.
It is good to be wary of programs flagged by SmartScreen, but there are lots of good programs that it does not recognise. It might be a bit annoying frequently seeing this message, so SmartScreen can be configured in Windows Security.
Press the Windows key and I at the same time to open the Settings app, then type ‘smartscreen’ into the search box. These three results all open Windows Security, but clicking Reputation-based protection is best.
There are switches to enable/disable
- Check apps and files
- SmartScreen for Microsoft Edge
- Potentially unwanted app blocking
- SmartScreen for Microsoft Store apps
For maximum protection, all these switched should be on. Even if something is blocked, you can always bypass the SmartScreen warnings.
There are also settings in Edge browser, too.
Open the menu in Edge and select Settings. Select Privacy and services on the left.
On the right, near the bottom, are these two switches to turn Microsoft Defender SmartScreen on/off and to Block potentially unwanted apps. It is your choice, but the safest way to use the Web is to turn on the two switches.
You can now choose what to do with unrecognised downloads and programs. Following SmartScreen’s advice not to keep downloads and not to run them is the safest thing to do, but if you know what you are doing, the warnings can be bypassed and it is even possible to turn them off completely. It is up to you which option you choose.
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