[GH-ISSUE #295] Binary installer blocked by Windows Defender SmartScreen #237

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opened 2026-05-05 05:45:35 -06:00 by gitea-mirror · 4 comments

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 05:45:35 -06:00

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Originally created by @p0lm on GitHub (Apr 29, 2019).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/debauchee/barrier/issues/295

Operating Systems

Windows 10 Pro (version 1809)

Barrier Version

2.2.0

Steps to reproduce bug

The latest binary for Windows as downloaded from https://github.com/debauchee/barrier/releases/download/v2.1.2/BarrierSetup-2.2.0-Release.exe is blocked from running by Windows Defender SmartScreen.

Originally created by @p0lm on GitHub (Apr 29, 2019). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/debauchee/barrier/issues/295 ### Operating Systems ### Windows 10 Pro (version 1809) ### Barrier Version ### 2.2.0 ### Steps to reproduce bug ### The latest binary for Windows as downloaded from https://github.com/debauchee/barrier/releases/download/v2.1.2/BarrierSetup-2.2.0-Release.exe is blocked from running by Windows Defender SmartScreen.

gitea-mirror closed this issue

2026-05-05 05:45:38 -06:00

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 05:45:42 -06:00

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@AdrianKoshka commented on GitHub (Apr 29, 2019):

Hrmm, this is, interesting.

@AdrianKoshka commented on GitHub (Apr 29, 2019): Hrmm, this is, interesting.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 05:45:46 -06:00

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@AdrianKoshka commented on GitHub (Apr 29, 2019):

Do you know what might cause this @noisyshape?

@AdrianKoshka commented on GitHub (Apr 29, 2019): Do you know what might cause this @noisyshape?

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 05:45:49 -06:00

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@noisyshape commented on GitHub (Apr 29, 2019):

Workaround: if you click on more info, you should see a button labeled "run anyway". If you don't see it, you will need to go into settings and change the SmartScreen setting from block to warn. I think warn is the default setting.

SmartScreen is a feature of Windows 8+ where an application's hash is sent to Microsoft and they say whether or not it's recognized. AFAIK this is strictly a matter of trust/reputation and involves no binary analysis so there isn't anything to be done about the installer itself. There are two ways for the installer to become recognized. First, it can be signed with an extended validity certificate which is more expensive and harder to get than a regular CA certificate. Second, Microsoft can see either the hash or the signing certificate enough and declare it recognized.

Note that SmartScreen involves sharing information with Microsoft and is something that some Barrier users will disable when they install Windows. This means both that some users won't have any experience with it and that Microsoft won't see the program hash as often as you might expect.

@noisyshape commented on GitHub (Apr 29, 2019): **Workaround:** if you click on more info, you should see a button labeled "run anyway". If you don't see it, you will need to go into settings and change the SmartScreen setting from block to warn. I think warn is the default setting. SmartScreen is a feature of Windows 8+ where an application's hash is sent to Microsoft and they say whether or not it's recognized. AFAIK this is strictly a matter of trust/reputation and involves no binary analysis so there isn't anything to be done about the installer itself. There are two ways for the installer to become recognized. First, it can be signed with an extended validity certificate which is more expensive and harder to get than a regular CA certificate. Second, Microsoft can see either the hash or the signing certificate enough and declare it recognized. Note that SmartScreen involves sharing information with Microsoft and is something that some Barrier users will disable when they install Windows. This means both that some users won't have any experience with it and that Microsoft won't see the program hash as often as you might expect.

gitea-mirror commented

2026-05-05 05:45:51 -06:00

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@AdrianKoshka commented on GitHub (Apr 30, 2019):

and is something that some Barrier users will disable when they install Windows

Really shouldn't do this (in my opinion).

@AdrianKoshka commented on GitHub (Apr 30, 2019): > and is something that some Barrier users will disable when they install Windows Really shouldn't do this (in my opinion).

gitea-mirror referenced this issue

2026-05-05 07:56:51 -06:00

[PR #237] [MERGED] Run Without System Tray Support #1583