This app has been blocked by your system administrator.

Question

I have tried running an app but every time Windows notifies me saying that it has been blocked. I even tried running the file in CMD by typing cd, then the file path, pressing Enter, then typing the name of the file, but it still says it is blocked. How do I get around this?

I'm using Windows 11 Education.

Answer 1

See:

This program is blocked by group policy. For more information, contact your system administrator

Answer 2

Hello,

Thank you for posting question on Microsoft Windows forum!

Based on your query of the app being blocked with the error message This program is blocked by group policy. For more information, contact your system administrator which might indicate that the execution of the application is being restricted by a policy set on your Windows 11 Education system. It is most likely that administrators implement Group Policies to control what software can be run, for security and compliance reasons in the organization. You can try the following steps to see if it could bypass that restrictive policy.

1.Check the File’s Properties:

• Windows marks files downloaded from the internet as “blocked.” Right-click the file, select Properties, then look in the General tab. If you see a message like “This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer,” click the Unblock checkbox (or button) if available, then click Apply and OK. Try running the program again.

2**.Temporarily Disable Windows Defender SmartScreen:**

• Windows Defender SmartScreen might be preventing the app from running because it deems the app unknown or untrusted. To change this:
• Go to Start > Settings > Privacy & security > Windows Security.
• Click on App & browser control.
• Under Reputation-based protection, you can adjust the settings. Be cautious, as lowering these settings can expose your system to threats if the file isn’t from a trustworthy source.
• Try running your app.
• It is crucial important to ro re-enable SmartScreen immediately after you've tried running the app. Disabling it leaves your system more vulnerable.

3.Examine Local Group Policy Settings (if you have admin rights):

• Press Windows + R, type gpedit.msc, and hit Enter.
• Checking the following 2 key policy settings
• Software Restriction Policies: Navigate to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Software Restriction Policies. If no policies are defined, right-click and choose “New Software Restriction Policies” to inspect any existing rules that might be blocking your application.
• AppLocker Rules: Alternatively, check Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Application Control Policies > AppLocker. Here, you can review the rules that have been set for executable files. If the policy is too strict or set to block all apps that aren’t explicitly allowed, you would need to adjust these rules.

Hope the above information is helpful!