Fix “This Publisher has been Blocked from Running Software on your Machine” in Windows 10

Fix “This Publisher has been blocked from running software on your machine. You must unblock this publisher to run this software”, ever came across this error in Windows 10, 7, or 8.1 running PC? This security warning occurs when you try to open any file or try to run software specifically. The software could be anything including a USB driver for your smartphone. Now the error does not occur with all the programs at the time of installation but is restricted to only a few programs. What more amazing is that there is no real solution to this problem, but all you can do is try different solutions with the hope that one of them may just work for you.

If you click on “How do I unblock this publisher “ link given in the security warning window, you will be taken to Bing search where you can try to enter the query and find any available fixes for this problem.

In this post, I have listed all the possible solutions to fix “this publisher has been blocked from running software on your machine.  You must unblock this publisher to run this software”.  As I said earlier, there is no actual solution to this problem, but you can try the following solutions to fix it.

Update: As reported by some of the readers, step 6 seems to be the working solution for most of them. So, directly jump to Step 6 and see if that fixes this error before you try any other steps in this post.

Fix This Publisher has been Blocked from Running Software on your Machine in Windows 10

Fix 1: Remove Your Publisher from Untrusted Publisher List

To fix this error, you can check and remove your publisher from the Untrusted Publisher list in Internet Options if any. Follow these steps to know how to unblock a software, publisher.

1. Open Internet Option. You can access Internet Option either from Settings or  Internet Explorer Settings.

To access Internet Option from Settings, go to All Settings by clicking on Start and selecting Settings.  Open Network and the Internet from the options.  Under Network and Internet, click on the WiFi tab or Dial-up tab, and then click on Internet Options under the Related Settings section.

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To open Internet Options from Internet Explorer, click on the Tool button and then click Internet Options.

2.Once the Internet Options window pop-up, go to the Content tab and click the Publisher button.

3. From the Certificates window, click on the Untrusted Publishers tab.

4. Here you should see your software publisher listed. If it is listed, click on it once and then click on the Remove button to unblock the publisher from the untrusted publisher list.

Now try to run the software, which was giving a security warning and see if the error has been resolved.

Fix 2: Turn Off Smart Screen Filter

Did you try turning off Smart Screen Filter in your Windows 10 or other Windows version running PC? Turning Off Smart Screen filter can solve “ This Publisher has been blocked from running software on your machine. You must unblock this publisher to run this software” error. Follow these steps to know how to do it.

1. Go to All Settings from Start button > select Settings.

2. Click on Privacy (Location, Camera).

3. Turn off the option that says” Turn on Smart Screen Filter to check web content URLs that Windows Store Apps use.”

Or maybe you can just disconnect from the internet and try to run the software that was giving the error. When the Smart Screen Filter pops up saying Smart Screen Filter cannot be reached, click and select “Run the application anyway.”

Fix 3: Turn off Firewall Temporarily

If the above method didn’t work for you then, try turning off the firewall on your PC. To Turn off the Firewall, go to Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Firewall and click on “ Turn Windows Firewall On or Off” from the left pane.

Now Turn Off Firewall from Private and Public Network Settings. Click on OK to save the settings. Try to run the software again and see if it has fixed the issue.

Fix 4: Download Software Compatible with Windows 8 and Windows 10

If you have been trying to run software or driver made for Windows 7 version and getting this error, then you may need to download driver or software made to run on Windows 8 or Windows 10. So, download Windows 8 or Windows 10 version of your software and try to run it.

Fix 5: Disable Security Warning

Now if for some reason, the publisher you want to unblock is not listed in the untrusted publisher tab, then the first method is of no use to you. However, you can try to disable security warnings from Internet Options and then Disable UAC using third-party software. Here is how to do it.

1. Go to Internet Options from Settings or Internet Explorer settings.

2. From the “Internet Options” window, go to Security Tab and then click on the “Internet”.

3. Next, click on the Custom Level button.

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4. Now scroll down and find “Launching Applications and Unsafe Files” option and Enable it. If you get a security warning saying your PC is unsafe,  don’t worry you can revert the changes anytime.

5. Now if you try to run the software again, the security warning saying “This Publisher has been blocked from running software on your machine” should not pop up. However, you will see another warning message saying “ This app has been blocked from your Protection”.

6. For this, you need to disable UAC. We can disable UAC, by downloading a utility called Disable UAC from here.

7. Install Disable UAC in your PC and run it. Now, check or Tick Disabling UAC (User Account Control). Click on the Apply button and restart your PC.

8. After the restart, try to run the software again and this time, you should be able to run the program or install it without any error.

9. Once the software has been installed, you can enable the UAC on your PC, by running and unchecking Disable UAC.

Updated.

Fix 6: Run the Program Using Command Prompt

If nothing seems working, try to run the blocked program using the command prompt. Open elevated command prompt (Command Prompt as Administrator).

To open the command prompt go to c:/windows/system32, right-click on cmd.exe and select Run as Administrator.

In the command prompt, go to the directory where your file has been located. For example, if you have it in the download folder, type cd/user/your username/downloads and hit enter.

Next, enter the name of the file that you want to run and hit enter. This should allow you to run the program without any error.

Fix 7: Unblock the Publisher

You can also try to unblock your file from the properties. Right-click on the installation file on which you are getting the Publisher has been blocked from running software on your computer error and select Properties. At the bottom of the Properties window, click “Unblock”.

Now try running the file again, and you should be able to fix this error.

Fix 8: Enable Developer Mode

The Windows 10 comes with a feature called Developer Mode. Having the Developer Mode enabled allows you to install apps from third-party sources.

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To enable Developer Mode in Windows 10, go to All Settings >> Update and Security >> For Developers.

Next, click on Developer Mode and click OK to enable it.

As the message reads, installing third-party apps may harm or expose your personal data to security risks. So, make sure that you trust the source of the app, before installing it.