How to Disable SmartScreen on Windows 11
SolvedDidi64_549 Posted messages 2761 Registration date Status Membre Last intervention -
Hello,
The "Notepad" application no longer opens without the SmartScreen window popping up with the options ⇒ [Copy to Clipboard] & [Close].
And when double-clicking on a .txt document, the error message is as follows;
⇒ Unable to open the application. Try resetting it to resolve the ..problem.
After researching,
The way to reset is to delete Notepad from the registry;
● HKCU & HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Notepad
.
The problem.
SmartScreen cannot be disabled in Windows Settings;
→ Privacy & Security → App & browser control..
And in the new window that opens → Reputation-based protection.
● If I disable SmartScreen, it reactivates as soon as the window is closed.
.
Same with the methods for disabling SmartScreen in the registry.
“Just gathering information from everywhere on the net. There might be some for Windows 10.”
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppHost EnableWebContentEvaluation = 0 HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System EnableSmartScreen = 0 HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\MicrosoftEdge\PhishingFilter EnabledV9 = 0 HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer SmartScreenEnabled = Off "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender" DisableRealtimeMonitoring = 0 The values EnableSomeThing = 0, disable the SomeThing.
P.S.
I’m using AVG free, which is already very responsive with its file exploit protection (which is supplemented by a ransomware protection and a complete firewall).
Also. If until today I kept Windows’s exploit protections enabled, as a double security measure. Now, it’s less interesting.
7 réponses
Hi,
Well.., apparently notepad.exe has been deleted from C:\Windows\.. and C:\Windows\System32\.. by Windows security.. what else.
I have the same error messages as those mentioned earlier. So, was that file already deleted? Possibly.
And after. I looked on another Windows 10 computer. And there were copies of notepad.exe in ↑ those same ↑ directories.
I copied the notepad.exe from Windows 10 to Windows 11, with no result.
I downloaded the notepad.exe installer for Windows 11 from the Microsoft store. And it doesn't install. Windows security remains consistent by continuing to block notepad.exe.
Hi,
I used a Macrium backup from a few weeks ago.
The issue of SmartScreen being disabled is still relevant, with Windows 11.
It just goes to show that an out-of-control security application can be dangerous.
This SmartScreen can be worse than a virus.
Hello,
It might also be Chrome that is directing, you need to check.
Also, you have too many Anti-Viruses when only one is recommended: Windows Defender is more than enough for all the latest Windows versions.
A professional Virus expert here on the forum will have you uninstall all of that and also check your PC at the same time.
See you.
Hello,
Try this:
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Temporarily disable your AVG antivirus (including the firewall).
-4-
Install from the Microsoft Store =► Windows Notepad
You have too many Anti-Viruses I only have one antivirus, AVG free. And the Windows antivirus was automatically disabled as soon as I installed AVG.
After that.
The other modules of the Windows Security Center remain active; the Windows firewall and SmartScreen.
And now, it's SmartScreen that has malfunctioned.
Hi,
I repeat, AVG Free is not the recommended antivirus for Windows.
Defender will activate, but you need to completely uninstall AVG Free first.
Here is the uninstall tool for AVG Free:
https://support.avg.com/SupportArticleView?l=fr&urlname=uninstall-avg-software-clear-remover
After that, you may need to check the Virus/Security forum as they are pros in this area.
It may be necessary to go through the Virus/Security forum, where they are professionals. I did hundreds of disinfecting between 2007 and 2013. Today, I continue to be interested in computer security, by following viral news.
I repeat, AVG Free is not the recommended antivirus for Windows. This is a problem. Everyone (the regulars) on the forums repeats the same thing → the antivirus and the firewall of Windows are sufficient for standard use. Except that nobody ever references their shortcomings. And yet. While Windows' antivirus receives a good rating on expert antivirus evaluation sites, Av-Comparatives and Av-Test. Avast and AVG receive better ratings; both in effectiveness and in resources used by computers with which Windows' antivirus has difficulties.
Check this link; https://forums.commentcamarche.net/forum/affich-38025438-quel-antivirus-choisir#p38025809
And a supplementary piece of information "complete" on how the Windows firewall works; https://forums.commentcamarche.net/forum/affich-38025851-impossible-de-trouver-le-fichier-script-vbs#p38025887
Hello,
I'm not very interested in the fights between software, I also use something other than Windows Defender for reasons that go beyond this thread.
The ratings of one and the other are somewhat of a red herring; they are not done on all software, they are done at a specific moment in time, take into account more or less subjective factors (resource consumption), pit known and finite samples against each other, and compare apples to oranges: we cannot compare antivirus solutions when currently we are mostly talking about security suites whose effectiveness depends on the synergy of the components (and where the antivirus is the weakest link; if it protected anything, we would know it in the security section of this forum).
In any case, you have to choose between cheese or dessert; you cannot reasonably use a third-party product while continuing to use the Windows firewall and Smart Screen.
Your troubles seem to stem from AVG and/or Windows 10/11 updates; I recently encountered the same behavior with certain software in the Defense component of my security software, but, to be fair, I can set it to ask me what it should do before throwing me out or allowing without warning (and that’s one of the reasons I mentioned earlier for not using Windows Defender).
No antivirus is reliable nowadays, Obviously. Hackers must test their viruses on about ten computers, each equipped with a different antivirus. The goal is to successfully breach the protections of the tested antiviruses before launching their viruses publicly.
Is Windows antivirus lighter? Not certain. Or in any case, probably too little to matter.
Microsoft doesn’t work magic. The functions & processes required to run antivirus software, firewalls, anti-exploit, web shields, anti-ransomware, etc., are the same for all. Besides, apart from Windows Update which can download/install definition updates. For the rest. The protective functions of Windows are not better integrated into Windows than those of third-party antivirus software.
Third-party antiviruses generally come with about ten drivers connected to hardware components, some of which load before Windows starts, others during and after Windows loads.
Add to this that today’s computers come with powerful processors and impressive amounts of RAM. The lightness of a software has less impact on resources. And on that note. Windows antivirus is the antivirus that year after year consumes the most memory according to Av-Comparatives. “Image.” This year, it came in second to last.
.
Summary Report of all antivirus tests in 2023, by Av-Comparatives.
“The more stars, the better it is.”
Ref. https://www.av-comparatives.org/tests/summary-report-2023/
The ATP Test = targeted attacks made with highly specialized tools.
Performance = delays caused by the antivirus on the computer's resources.
We can check all antivirus tests year after year in the AV-Comparatives archives→ https://www.av-comparatives.org/archive/
The 2024 tests (which again, are worth what they're worth) place it on this point of "lightness" on the top step of the podium, tied with 5 or 6 others that are supposed to surpass it overall.
Windows Defender obviously has the flaw of not or poorly filtering outgoing traffic (but that's more a question of privacy than security): Windows is not going to commit Hara-Kiri by facilitating the prohibition of telemetry.
And also, as we've just mentioned, it poorly or insufficiently prompts the user's choice.
In fact, contrary to the prevailing dogma on this forum, there is nothing very tangible to support that Windows Defender is better than others, nor fundamentally worse: its main advantage is that it is pre-installed "for free".
To get back to the point, a third-party product that also has a firewall function automatically disables Windows' firewall.
As for Smart Screen, one must have the courage of one's opinions: if it doesn't want to be mistreated in the Settings, we kill the service (and also the scheduled task if there is one, I can't recall), or we do the whole job using a "Tweaker" (DISM++; Winaero Tweaker…).
But I'm not sure it's directly to blame, I've occasionally described having the problem even when it's disabled; the problem more likely results from the blocking of the applications concerned by Windows Defender's Defense component or AVG if it has one.
The tests .. (which again, are worth what they are worth) AV-Comparatives is an independent organization that tests and evaluates antivirus software, supported by the University of Innsbruck and other academic institutions worldwide..
Ref. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AV-Comparatives
In short. I prefer to rely on the engineers at AV-Comparatives (and AV-Test) who conduct these tests with the rigor their profession demands. Instead of the same opinions repeated everywhere, claiming that Windows' antivirus and firewall are sufficient for standard use. Aye.., it seems to me that sufficient for standard use is leveling down.
Windows Defender obviously has the flaw of not or poorly filtering outgoing traffic (but that's more of a privacy issue than a security one) Indeed. Privacy is at stake when a password-stealing trojan exits through the wide-open door of Windows' firewall, gaining access to a user's social networks and other sites. Or even, the privacy of data encrypted by a ransomware downloader trojan, because Powershell has internet access to download the ransomware, install it, encrypt the data, and demand payment in Bitcoin.
In fact, contrary to the prevailing dogma on this forum, there is nothing very tangible to support that Windows Defender would be better than the others, nor fundamentally worse: its main advantage is that it is "pre-installed" for free. For my part. What I appreciate about Windows Defender. Because it is effective, ad-free, and free. Free antivirus vendors have been forced to adapt, offering more effective free antiviruses, and practically without ads.
Aye.., when it has come to the point, according to AV-Comparatives, that Avast and AVG free are on par with the best paid ones, BitDefender and Kaspersky. That's impressive.
Additionally, with the advent of Cloud Computing, the free ones that were previously "practically" useful only for promoting the paid ones. Today, with cloud computing allowing the submission of suspicious files for analysis on the vendors' servers. The free ones, by actively participating in the improvement of the malware definitions of the paid ones, become more than just promotional tools.
.
For SmartScreen,
I haven't written everything. I have done thorough research. Tried Winareo Tweaker and other manipulations.
But I'm not sure SmartScreen is directly responsible, I described having the problem sporadically even when it is disabled; the issue is more likely due to the blocking of the affected applications by the defense component of Windows Defender The defense modules of Windows are all listed in the Security Center. And among these modules, there is only the anti-ransomware .. And SmartScreen, which is an anti-exploit, whose job is to intercept and stop risky or "potentially" suspicious objects. The antivirus deals with files that are "officially" infected or whose heuristic analysis reveals risky functions.
It's not with Win11 that SmartScreen is disabled for you. It must be with Win10, with which I have no problem disabling SmartScreen here.
As far as I remember yes, but the Windows Defender firewall is stopped by my third-party security software (which may not be the case for AVG if it's just an antivirus?) with perhaps a lower likelihood of Windows trying to reactivate it, and I have disabled Edge.
But also, as far as I remember, it seems to me that it is reactivated with each monthly update, it needs to be censored from time to time (or you can use a utility that removes it).