14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 11 version 2022 Update comes with a long list of great features, including not only tab support in File Explorer and Android app support through the Amazon Appstore, but also a new security feature called Smart App Control.
Just like its name suggests, Smart App Control is supposed to prevent malicious apps from running on your device and then compromise your data.
However, this isn’t an antivirus feature but rather a tool bundled with Windows 11 and supposed to work together with Microsoft Defender from the very beginning.
In fact, Microsoft even recommends running Smart App Control alongside Microsoft Defender, and installing the latest updates should help keep everything protected.
“Smart App Control adds significant protection from new and emerging threats by blocking apps that are malicious or untrusted. Smart App Control also helps to block potentially unwanted apps, which are apps that may cause your device to run slowly, display unexpected ads, offer extra software you didn't want, or do other things you don't expect,” the software giant explains.
“Smart App Control works alongside your other security software, such as Microsoft Defender or non-Microsoft antivirus tools, for added protection.”
Smart App Control works in a pretty straightforward manner, and if you enable this feature, there’s a chance you may not even know it’s doing its magic in the background.
This is because when you launch an app, Smart App Control automatically verifies it by connecting to Microsoft servers and checking if it’s properly signed or not. Microsoft’s system then tells Smart App Control if the app is believed to be safe or not, and if it is, it allows the Windows computer to run it normally. If there’s any sign that what you’re trying to run poses a security risk for the device, it is automatically blocked.
“If the security service is unable to make a confident prediction about the app, then Smart App Control checks to see if the app has a valid signature. If the app has a valid signature, Smart App Control will let it run. If the app is unsigned, or the signature is invalid, Smart App Control will consider it untrusted and block it for your protection,” Microsoft says.
Smart App Control comes bundled with Windows 11, but worth knowing is that it’s only enabled on new operating system installs. In other words, if you upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11, you won’t be able to enable this feature unless you clean-install the new operating system on your device.
As you can see in the screenshot here, Smart App Control comes with three different settings. As said, the feature is off on computers where Windows 11 didn’t start from scratch, so users would be required to reinstall the operating system. Then, if Smart App Control is on, every app will be blocked to protect your device.
The third setting is called Evaluation mode, and Smart App Control tries to learn how you use the device and try to protect the computer without becoming too intrusive. Most of the analysis is conducted in the background, so you won’t notice when it’s running.
For the time being, Smart App Control doesn’t come with support for exclusions, so if an app is blocked, there’s no way to let it run until you disable the feature completely. Microsoft recommends users to reach out to app developers and request them to ship an update after signing the app with a valid signature to therefore prevent future security problems on Windows devices.