Windows 10 downloads always make you right click, properties, and unblock... is that necessary?

[Space Lynx]

Title says it all. Like even a new Nvidia driver, when you download it, you can right click it and go to properties and it will have a box that says unblock... is it necessary to do this for all downloads, or any? Will Nvidia drivers run ok if I don't every time?

 

[W1zzard]

Under the hood this feature uses NTFS Alternate Data Streams: https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/askcore/2013/03/24/alternate-data-streams-in-ntfs/

Which browser?

 

[silentbogo]

I haven't even noticed this "feature" until this thread, so yeah... it will work just fine without unblocking.

 

[Space Lynx]

Under the hood this feature uses NTFS Alternate Data Streams: https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/askcore/2013/03/24/alternate-data-streams-in-ntfs/

Which browser?

Not sure what you mean by which browser, Firefox or Chrome does the same thing. When I download anything, even something like Nvidia driver, or a chipset update, or even MSI Afterburner, it shows this under properties:

I haven't even noticed this "feature" until this thread, so yeah... it will work just fine without unblocking.

I have been unblocking everything for over a year now... lol just wondering if it was ever necessary, apparently not. welp... gg life

 

[W1zzard]

Check if the registry options here let you turn off that mechanism:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/883260/information-about-the-attachment-manager-in-microsoft-windows

 

[Space Lynx]

Can one of you download anything right now and check to see if this happens to you to? I am pretty sure it happens to all Win 10 users. Or maybe it is because my version of windows is the Windows 10 N variant... maybe the N makes it more secure or something lol

I just downloaded the latest stable build of MSI AB, that is what the screenshot is from.

I think W1zz is having some confusion here, I am not having any issues downloading or using any program, I am just curious if any of you unblock anything or if it even shows an option of unblocking a new download once it has been downloaded, and you click on the download, and go to properties, and see if there is an unblock checkbox there. Do any of you have that checkbox? I guess that is what I really want to ask.

@R-T-B when you wake up, please reply lol

 

[W1zzard]

We all have the checkbox. Windows 10, real Administrator account, no UAC, so I'm not getting any alert box before starting

 

[Space Lynx]

Thanks! My original question was then do I need to unblock every single item, like Nvidia drivers, before installing them. My guess is no though, since the average user would never even think to look.

Cheers! I will start running your scripts on my clean installs.

 

[W1zzard]

do I need to unblock every single item, like Nvidia drivers, before installing them

No need if you can live with the warning box that appears when you double-click it, that's all this feature does

 

[dorsetknob]

I get this if i download on one computer and transfer to an offline Computer for install (both win 7)

 

[Splinterdog]

I discovered this on multiple reinstalls of Asus Aura as it was cited as a possible reason for the software not working correctly. i.e. it was being blocked.
However, I and others never received a warning for this, which is why it was so hard to find.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

I like this feature a lot. If set up correctly, it stop malicious software from being run depending on its extension. It can be used to block any and all software from being run until permission is granted. I havent played with it enough but eventually I will, hmmm...

 

[Space Lynx]

I like this feature a lot. If set up correctly, it stop malicious software from being run depending on its extension. It can be used to block any and all software from being run until permission is granted. I havent played with it enough but eventually I will, hmmm...

Agreed, my only issue was did I actually have to check unblock every single time I wanted to install something like a Nvidia driver, it gets a bit annoying. Apparently it is fine though.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Agreed, my only issue was did I actually have to check unblock every single time I wanted to install something like a Nvidia driver, it gets a bit annoying. Apparently it is fine though.

If you read the link @W1zzard posted (the 2nd one), I think you will have to change risk levels on some file extensions. I'm now wondering how soon after windows boots does it start its blocking.

 

[newtekie1]

The only time I've ever seen this cause an issue is with Office files. If you don't unblock the file, it will always open in protected mode, and not let you edit it until you click "Enable Editing". Even if you edit then save the file, the next time you open it Office will still ask you to enable editing. Unblocking the file in properties gets rid of that.

 

[Space Lynx]

The only time I've ever seen this cause an issue is with Office files. If you don't unblock the file, it will always open in protected mode, and not let you edit it until you click "Enable Editing". Even if you edit then save the file, the next time you open it Office will still ask you to enable editing. Unblocking the file in properties gets rid of that.

Nice find! I always wondered why it did that lol

 

[R-T-B]

Can one of you download anything right now and check to see if this happens to you to? I am pretty sure it happens to all Win 10 users. Or maybe it is because my version of windows is the Windows 10 N variant... maybe the N makes it more secure or something lol

I just downloaded the latest stable build of MSI AB, that is what the screenshot is from.

I think W1zz is having some confusion here, I am not having any issues downloading or using any program, I am just curious if any of you unblock anything or if it even shows an option of unblocking a new download once it has been downloaded, and you click on the download, and go to properties, and see if there is an unblock checkbox there. Do any of you have that checkbox? I guess that is what I really want to ask.

@R-T-B when you wake up, please reply lol

I have always had this checkbox. It seems related to smartscreen. It tells it what files came from the internet vs your lan.

 

[silkstone]

I've never seen this checkbox before. I'm on Win 10 1903 Admin account with UAC disabled.
Maybe it was a setting I disabled early on during an install, but it also isn't on 3 other computers I recently set up with UAC enabled.

Edit - I checked through some downloaded Excel files and I do see it, though not on any downloaded .exe files. weird.

 

[Space Lynx]

I have always had this checkbox. It seems related to smartscreen. It tells it what files came from the internet vs your lan.

Yeah, I am not worried about it anymore, I am going to keep checking it though just to make sure my installs are clean, or maybe I will do a full Admin login like Wizz does lol