How to disable SmartScreen on Windows systems starting with the seventh version?

Quite often, users of operating systems (starting with the "seven" and higher) face a somewhat obscure service called SmartScreen. Many people do not know what it is, and start to wonder: "how to disable SmartScreen in Windows 7, 8 or 10?" Let's first see what kind of service it is, why it is needed, whether it should be turned off, and how to do it if necessary.

What is SmartScreen?

Before solving the mentioned problem (how to disable SmartScreen), we will understand what it is. For example, we will use the operating system Windows 10, because it now raises the most questions, but in the G7 and G8 all actions will be similar.

So, the SmartScreen service is a real filter that is part of the Windows system components. According to the representatives of Microsoft Corporation, it was created only to connect a specific IP-address with a remote server of the company, as in the case of other online services. Frankly, such a statement raises doubts.

The fact is that the SmartScreen filter in the background sends to the corresponding Microsoft service the data about all applications and programs installed on the local computer - it seems to be for checking the certificates, initializing malicious programs, etc. And, it is alleged, in the corporate logs such data Long are not stored, but are deleted after a certain period of time. Again, the question is very controversial, since no one from Microsoft specialists can fully give a complete guarantee regarding the removal of information necessary for user identification. Incidentally, it is noted that such information is not transmitted to third parties. Since it's impossible to be 100% sure in this, many users, after learning what this service is, begin to look for ways to solve the problem, that is, they are keenly interested in how to disable SmartScreen in any version of Windows. But first a few words about the privacy of information.

Should I disable the SmartScreen filter?

This question is serious enough. On the one hand, you can protect yourself from sending unwanted information to developers of Windows operating systems. On the other hand, there is some doubt about the possibility of reducing protection, which is provided at the level of the standard Windows tools.

However, in general, it can be noted that it's not for nothing that users install powerful antiviruses, antispyware programs and even third-party firewalls that work much better than the built-in tools of Windows. So if you want to answer the question about how to disable SmartScreen, first decide if you need to do this at all. However, with a high degree of probability it can be concluded that it is really necessary to disable this service (the more so that it will not affect the performance of the system in any way).

How to disable SmartScreen in Windows 10 via the control panel?

If the decision to switch off is accepted, we proceed to action. For starters, the easiest way is to use a standard control panel.

It selects the security and maintenance section, and then uses the SmartScreen parameter change menu. There are three options for the service: query, warning, and disabling. In this case, select the "Do nothing" item, which will cause the filter to be disabled, and confirm the changes.

How to disable the SmartScreen filter in Windows 10 through Group Policy settings

To disable the service, you can also use the editing of Group Policy settings, which are accessed by typing gpedit.msc in the "Run" section.

Here we need to go through the configuration of the computer to administrative templates, where you first select the Windows components section, and then "Explorer." Here in the window to the right there is a SmartScreen configuration menu. At the entrance to it, the selection of the filter operation mode is made according to the same points as presented above (three modes). It is worth noting that if you make the settings using Group Policy, the first method will not work in the future (to change the modes).

Disabling Smartscreen through the system registry

Now let's see how to disable SmartScreen in Windows 10 using Registry Editor, which, in general, just duplicates Group Policy (and vice versa).

Here you need to use the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE branch, and then through the subfolders tree in the Software sections, then Microsoft, then Windows and CurrentVersion get to the Explorer item. This is where the SmartScreen Enabled parameter is enabled. Again, when editing the settings, you can find all the same three modes (but only in the English version): RequreAdmin - request for action, Prompt - warning, Off - disabling the service. Select the desired item and close the editor.

Conclusion

Here, in fact, and all about how to disable SmartScreen in versions of Windows, starting with the seventh. The question is: is it worth doing? But this is everyone who decides for himself. In principle, many experts say that there will not be anything wrong with disabling the filter, and the possible consequences like a decrease in security look clearly exaggerated.

As for the issues of disabling or using other operating modes, then, as already seen from the above, that in the G7, G8, and G10, they are absolutely identical. By the way, all methods are, in general, duplication. Deactivation can be done by any of the above methods, but the essence of this, as they say, does not change.