How do I create a SETUP.EXE that doesn't get blocked by Windows?

Question

I've written a small program using Visual Studio 2019. It is a Visual Basic Windows Forms application. I have no issues running it from Visual Studio. It publishes without errors. If I try to use the Setup.exe that was generated, I am met with an "Application Install - Security Warning" window that tells me that "Your administrator has blocked this application because it potentially poses a security risk to your computer." This is on the same Windows 10 computer that the code was generated on.

I would like to be able to take the SETUP.EXE that was generated and install my application on some of my other PC's.

Why is this happening? What can I do in my Project to correct this and publish a usable SETUP.EXE file?

I am aware that there are registry edits that I could do on my PC that would allow the setup program to work, but I don't want to have to alter settings to get my project to install. I would rather correct the issue in the publishing stage of my project to allow SETUP.EXE to run as any other installer would.

Thank you!

Answer 1

If your system is set to permit signed installations (see this post) then the solution is to sign your setup.exe with an appropriate certificate.

Answer 2

Hi Calab,
First, make sure the following registry keys are enabled:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\.NETFramework\Security\TrustManager\PromptingLevel]  
LocalIntranet = Enabled  
TrustedSites = Enabled  

Then you can try to install it in safe mode.
More details you can refer to this document.

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