Windows 11 is warning "Virus protection is off," Microsoft confirms it's false, but verify if Defender is actually enabled <https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/08/30/windows-11-is-warning-virus-protection-is-off-but-microsoft-confirms-its-false/>
Newsgroups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,alt.comp.os.windows-11,alt.comp.os.windows-10,alt.windows7.general,comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.win32
On 09/04/2026 12:39 AM, Johann 'Myrkraverk' Oskarsson wrote:
On 03/09/2026 7:59 AM, Mr. Chang Man-wai wrote:
Windows 11 is warning "Virus protection is off," Microsoft confirms it's false, but verify if Defender is actually enabled
<https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/08/30/windows-11-is-warning-virus- protection-is-off-but-microsoft-confirms-its-false/>
I now use BitDefender for all of my anti-virus needs.ÿ Well, sort of,
I also have I.B.M. anti-virus for D.O.S. but it complains it's not been
updated recently.
Yet, I somehow get the warning from Windows -- I forgot the exact
verbage -- that my very own recently compiled .exe files are blocked
from execution.ÿ
Could be MSFT Smart Screen or similar file protection hardening.
ÿHave you considered looking at the properties of the executable(*.exe file) and toggling on the Unblock field(i.e. to unblock the exe file)
That's not a malware detection. That is a detection of an "infrequently
seen file".
On Fri, 9/4/2026 2:12 AM, ....winston wrote:
On 09/04/2026 12:39 AM, Johann 'Myrkraverk' Oskarsson wrote:
On 03/09/2026 7:59 AM, Mr. Chang Man-wai wrote:
Windows 11 is warning "Virus protection is off," Microsoft confirms it's false, but verify if Defender is actually enabled
<https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/08/30/windows-11-is-warning-virus- protection-is-off-but-microsoft-confirms-its-false/>
I now use BitDefender for all of my anti-virus needs.ÿ Well, sort of,
I also have I.B.M. anti-virus for D.O.S. but it complains it's not been
updated recently.
Yet, I somehow get the warning from Windows -- I forgot the exact
verbage -- that my very own recently compiled .exe files are blocked
from execution.
Could be MSFT Smart Screen or similar file protection hardening.
ÿHave you considered looking at the properties of the executable(*.exe file) and toggling on the Unblock field(i.e. to unblock the exe file)
SmartScreen should check with the Cloud, and for any EXE for which
"few downloads of it have been detected", then if you leave SmartScreen enabled, you will receive such warnings.
This is the pretty standard "reputational" analysis afforded by
low quality AV products. The AV product may have "nothing serious"
to report on a given day, no "actual" malware. But if it complains
about every executable file for which it has never seen the SHA256
value before, the screen will present a number of warning Notifications.
That's not a malware detection. That is a detection of an "infrequently
seen file". And this mainly annoys developers. The same thing happens,
when as a small developer, you give a dozen copies of your work to testers, and all of their attempts to run the code are blocked.
This has also been a bug for the ecosystem, there was a period of months where a bunch of stuff was mis-classified. And that has now stopped.
I was clicking through endless inappropriate assertions during that period. If I put something on the D: drive today, I am no longer pestered like that.
Paul
On 09/04/2026 4:25 AM, Paul wrote:
On Fri, 9/4/2026 2:12 AM, ....winston wrote:
On 09/04/2026 12:39 AM, Johann 'Myrkraverk' Oskarsson wrote:
On 03/09/2026 7:59 AM, Mr. Chang Man-wai wrote:
Windows 11 is warning "Virus protection is off," Microsoft confirms it's false, but verify if Defender is actually enabled
<https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/08/30/windows-11-is-warning-virus- protection-is-off-but-microsoft-confirms-its-false/>
I now use BitDefender for all of my anti-virus needs.ÿ Well, sort of,
I also have I.B.M. anti-virus for D.O.S. but it complains it's not been >>>> updated recently.
Yet, I somehow get the warning from Windows -- I forgot the exact
verbage -- that my very own recently compiled .exe files are blocked
from execution.
Could be MSFT Smart Screen or similar file protection hardening.
ÿÿHave you considered looking at the properties of the executable(*.exe file) and toggling on the Unblock field(i.e. to unblock the exe file)
SmartScreen should check with the Cloud, and for any EXE for which
"few downloads of it have been detected", then if you leave SmartScreen
enabled, you will receive such warnings.
This is the pretty standard "reputational" analysis afforded by
low quality AV products. The AV product may have "nothing serious"
to report on a given day, no "actual" malware. But if it complains
about every executable file for which it has never seen the SHA256
value before, the screen will present a number of warning Notifications.
That's not a malware detection. That is a detection of an "infrequently
seen file". And this mainly annoys developers. The same thing happens,
when as a small developer, you give a dozen copies of your work to testers, >> and all of their attempts to run the code are blocked.
This has also been a bug for the ecosystem, there was a period of months
where a bunch of stuff was mis-classified. And that has now stopped.
I was clicking through endless inappropriate assertions during that period. >> If I put something on the D: drive today, I am no longer pestered like that. >>
ÿÿÿ Paul
For clarification.
The blocking of an exe file is from Windows, not Defender and any AV Program. ÿThe primary Windows component that blocks the file as the Attachment Manager(AM) which determines if the file originates from an unknown source.
ÿ-if found, the AM adds an alternate data stream to file(hidden metadata tag).
ÿOnce the file is attempted to run(double-click), the hidden tag is detected and Smart Screen kicks in. Smart Screen checks the file presence in MSFT's cloud database of safe and malicious programs and apps. If not seen as safe, it's necessary to unblock file(in its properties).
ÿ- Note: Running the file after blocking may also generate and require 'okaying' a UAC prompt for permission to proceed.
On Fri, 9/4/2026 6:04 PM, ....winston wrote:
On 09/04/2026 4:25 AM, Paul wrote:
On Fri, 9/4/2026 2:12 AM, ....winston wrote:
Could be MSFT Smart Screen or similar file protection hardening.
ÿÿHave you considered looking at the properties of the executable(*.exe file) and toggling on the Unblock field(i.e. to unblock the exe file)
SmartScreen should check with the Cloud, and for any EXE for which
"few downloads of it have been detected", then if you leave SmartScreen
enabled, you will receive such warnings.
This is the pretty standard "reputational" analysis afforded by
low quality AV products. The AV product may have "nothing serious"
to report on a given day, no "actual" malware. But if it complains
about every executable file for which it has never seen the SHA256
value before, the screen will present a number of warning Notifications. >>>
That's not a malware detection. That is a detection of an "infrequently
seen file". And this mainly annoys developers. The same thing happens,
when as a small developer, you give a dozen copies of your work to testers, >>> and all of their attempts to run the code are blocked.
This has also been a bug for the ecosystem, there was a period of months >>> where a bunch of stuff was mis-classified. And that has now stopped.
I was clicking through endless inappropriate assertions during that period. >>> If I put something on the D: drive today, I am no longer pestered like that.
ÿÿÿ Paul
For clarification.
The blocking of an exe file is from Windows, not Defender and any AV Program.
ÿThe primary Windows component that blocks the file as the Attachment Manager(AM) which determines if the file originates from an unknown source.
ÿ-if found, the AM adds an alternate data stream to file(hidden metadata tag).
ÿOnce the file is attempted to run(double-click), the hidden tag is detected and Smart Screen kicks in. Smart Screen checks the file presence in MSFT's cloud database of safe and malicious programs and apps. If not seen as safe, it's necessary to unblock file(in its properties).
ÿ- Note: Running the file after blocking may also generate and require 'okaying' a UAC prompt for permission to proceed.
You can receive a variety of responses, when the Alternate Stream
is missing and there is nothing to unblock in terms of where
a thing was downloaded from.
I was getting these warnings from materials *coming from another disk drive*. Where a browser was not involved. Where there was no Alternate Stream.
The common element was, my D: drive was involved for when a Notification would pop up. This wasn't a C: problem. The files did not have to be executables either.
At the time, I had no idea where this was coming from, the control
from Smart Screen being off.
Sometimes, the evidence is easy to figure out.
Just not all of the time. Sometimes it's a bug,
and it's not possible to determine where the bug
came from. I was also not able to find a strong signal
in Google to use, as part of debug. It was my problem
to own.
| Sysop: | Jacob Catayoc |
|---|---|
| Location: | Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines |
| Users: | 4 |
| Nodes: | 4 (0 / 4) |
| Uptime: | 497100:06:38 |
| Calls: | 182 |
| Files: | 744 |
| D/L today: |
15 files (5,345K bytes) |
| Messages: | 73,582 |