Fix "This App Has Been Blocked For Your Protection" in Windows 10

Yet another Error in Windows 10 when Users try to Run .exe files to Install Softwares/Programs. Earlier we Discussed Solution for Similar error File System Error (-1073741819) in windows 10. So what happens is a Error Pops up whenever you try to install a new Program on your Computer, Running the .exe file as Administrator won't help either.

The User Account Control error Message might read like "This App Has Been Blocked For Your Protection" and some more information  "An administrator has blocked you from running this app. For more information, contact the administrator". Just like Shown in below Picture.

What is causing This App Has Been Blocked For Your Protection Error?

As the error message says, The Administrator has blocked you from Running this App. But you might say, I am the Administrator OR I even tried to Run the app as Administrator but no luck.

Well, Windows 10 has inbuilt Administrator account which is blocking you to install the App/Program. This Administrator user account is Hidden and Disabled. We will Simply Enable it to Fix This App Has Been Blocked For Your Protection error.

The Real Issue behind this Error is the Smartscreen Protection in Windows 10 which is enabled by Default. By Enabling Administrator account and Logging in to it will Disable it. But There is more to it, We will be Sharing 3 Different ways to solve this issue. So lets get Started.

Fixing This App Has Been Blocked For Your Protection

Last updated on 17 September 2016

Updated Method: Tweaking Local Group Policy.

This is an updated Method to fix "This App has been blocked for your protection" error. Credits for this method goes to Gentlemen who has Commented below this post. So, here is what you need to do.

1. Search for "Edit Group Policy" in windows search bar and click on the result.
2. Click on Computer Configuration  > Windows Settings (left pane).
3. Now Double Click on Security Settings (Right pane) and again double click on  Local Policies.
4. Double Click on Security Options.
5. Scroll Down to bottom and find "User Account Control - Run all Administrators in admin approval mode".
6. Double click on it, a small window will pop up with option "Disabled". Check it and apply changes.
7. Restart your PC.

So with above steps we disabled User account control which might in this case fix the problem. At least few users have reported this to work and we decided to update this post. Let us know if this works by Replying to This Comment.

Method 2: Enabling Administrator Account.

This is the very First method out of 3 we will be discussing today, It Requires you to Enable and Log in to inbuilt Administrator account. Follow the Steps mentioned below

Step 1: Open Command Prompt by Searching it or Right Click on Start Button and Click Command Prompt (Admin).

Step 2: Once its open type in or Copy Paste "net user administrator /active:yes" in it and hit ENTER. You will see Command Completed Successfully just like below Picture.

Step 3: Now Close Command Prompt and Click on Start, Then Right Click on your User Account(Located at Top Left) then click Sign out.

Step 4: You should be on Login Screen by now, So log in to Administrator account which we enabled in Step 2.

Step 5: You can now see the Desktop, Simply Navigate to the .exe file and double click it. You won't see any error this time.

Step 6: So now that you have Installed your Required Program, you will again need to Log in to your Regular User account and Disable the Administrator User account.

Step 7: Ok so now you should be logged in to your Regular account. Open Command prompt and type in "net user administrator /active:no" and hit Enter.

That is it. Close the Command prompt. This should Most probably Fix the issue but We have 2 More Methods to Fix This App Has Been Blocked For Your Protection error in Windows 10.

Method 3: Disabling Smart Screen from Command prompt.

So if you do not want to Enable Administrator User account and if you find Method 1 as too much Hassle, Then Follow this Method.

• Search for Control Panel and Open it.
• Now in Control Panel Window, Search for "Smartscreen"
• Click "Change Smartscreen Settings" Under Security & Maintenance.
• Click on Security for see Drop Down Options.
• Scroll Down and Click "Change Settings" for Windows Smartscreen.
• Now Select Don't do anything(Turn off Windows Smartscreen) and Click OK.

So in this method we did the same thing just in a different way. Now try and Execute the File which was showing you This App Has Been Blocked For Your Protection. It must be gone for good now.

Method 4: Open Command Prompt and Try installing

The 2 Methods that are explained above should be enough to fix this error in Windows 10 but still you can try this Method.

Goto the Folder where your .exe file is located and causing error, Lets say you are trying to run Photoshop.exe and its located in D:\Setup\Photoshop.exe.

So as per the above example you will navigate to D drive, Click on Setup folder, don't open it.
Hold Shift key and Right Click on "Setup" Folder, in the context menu you will see open Command Window here, Click on it.

Command Prompt will pop up at the location D:\Setup, No simply type Photoshop.exe and hit enter, this will not show you This app has been blocked for your protection error.

So these were the 3 Methods that i wanted to cover which helps you to get rid of This App Has Been Blocked For Your Protection Error. Let us know which method you used to fix it in the comments below.