Fix Downloaded Files from being Blocked in Windows 10

Fix Downloaded Files from being Blocked in Windows 10: When you try to open or execute the files you just download over the internet you may receive a security warning stating “The publisher could not be verified and the file might be a security threat“. This happens when Windows can’t verify the digital signature of the file, hence the error message. Windows 10 comes with an Attachment Manager which identifies an attachment either safe or unsafe, if the file is unsafe then it warns you before you open the files.

Windows Attachment Manager uses the IAttachmentExecute application programming interface (API) to find the file type and file association. When you download some files from the Internet and save it on your disk (NTFS) then Windows add specific metadata to these downloaded files. These metadata are saved as an Alternate Data Stream (ADS). When Windows adds metadata to the download files as an attachment then it is known as Zone Information. This zone information is not visible and is added to the download file as an Alternate Data Stream (ADS).

When you try to open the downloaded file then Windows File Explorer also checks the zone information and see if the file came from an unknown source. Once Windows recognizes that the file is an unrecognized or came from unknown sources the Windows Smart Screen warning will appear stating “Windows smart screen prevented an unrecognized app from starting. Running this app might put your PC at risk“.

If you wish to unblock the file then you could do that manually by right-clicking on the downloaded file and then select Properties. Under properties window checkmark “Unblock” then click Apply followed by OK. But users don’t prefer this method as it’s very annoying to do that every time you download a file instead you could disable the additional zone information which means there won’t be any smart screen security warning. So without wasting any time let’s see How to Fix Downloaded Files from being Blocked in Windows 10 with the help of the below-listed tutorial.

Contents

• Fix Downloaded Files from being Blocked in Windows 10
• Method 1: Enable or Disable Downloaded Files from being Blocked in Registry Editor
• Method 2: Enable or Disable Downloaded Files from being Blocked in Group Policy Editor

Fix Downloaded Files from being Blocked in Windows 10

Make sure to create a restore point just in case something goes wrong.

Method 1: Enable or Disable Downloaded Files from being Blocked in Registry Editor

1.Press Windows Key + R then type regedit and hit Enter.

2.Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Attachments

3.If you can’t find Attachments folder then right-click on Policies then select New > Key.

4.Name this key as Attachments and hit Enter.

5.Now right-click on Attachments then select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.

6.Name this newly created DWORD as SaveZoneInformation and hit Enter.

7.Double-click on SaveZoneInformation then change it’s value to 1.

8.If in future you need to enable Zone information simply right-click on SaveZoneInformation DWORD and select Delete.

9.Close Registry Editor then reboot your PC to save changes.

This is How to Fix Downloaded Files from being Blocked in Windows 10 but if you still have some problem then follow the next method.

Method 2: Enable or Disable Downloaded Files from being Blocked in Group Policy Editor

Note: This method won’t work for Windows 10 Home Edition Users as it only work in Windows 10 Pro, Education, and Enterprise Edition.

1.Press Windows Key + R then type gpedit.msc and hit Enter.

2.Navigate to the following Policy:

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Attachment Manager

3.Make sure to select Attachment Manager then in the right window double-click on “Do not preserve zone information in file attachments” policy.

4.Now if you need to enable or disable zone information do the following:

To Enable Downloaded Files from being Blocked: Select Not configured or Disable

To Disable Downloaded Files from being Blocked: Select Enabled

5.Click Apply followed by OK.

6.Reboot your PC to save changes.

Recommended:

• How to create a backup of your Windows 10 PC
• Check if your PC is using UEFI or Legacy BIOS
• How to Disable Background Apps in Windows 10
• How to Enable or Disable Battery Saver In Windows 10

That’s it, you successfully Fix Downloaded Files from being Blocked in Windows 10 but if you still have any questions regarding this tutorial then feel free to ask them in the comment’s section.