❔ Releasing Software
I recently wrote a program using Avalonia, and I’ve uploaded an exe to github on the project so users can download and use the program I made. I’m running into an issue however that windows users keep getting a blue notification box when they run my program saying like Windows Stopped this file from running, and you have to click ‘More Info’ and then ‘Run Anyways’ for it to actually work and launch my program. I’m new to releasing software, so I don’t really k ow where to go to fix this. I’m not sure how to make windows happy with my program. What causes this, and how can I securely fix it?
21 Replies
Submit a file for malware analysis - Microsoft Security Intelligence
Submit suspected malware or incorrectly detected files for analysis. Submitted files will be added to or removed from antimalware definitions based on the analysis results.
this is SmartScreen and it will continue to show up until your EXE builds some reputation as people continue to download it
you can avoid smartscreen by signing your EXE with a code signing certificate
if you submit your app to the Microsoft Store, you pay a small fee up-front to open your account, and they'll sign your releases for you, and it'll be available in the store
otherwise you can purchase a cert from a certificate authority, which is expensive
ballpark is around $200 per year depending on who you get it from
doesn't this bypass Windows' certification buildup though?
(not bypass but shortcuts, poor wording)
it won't make smartscreen go away, but it might show a less scary message
I believe it shows something like "Unknown publisher" and some bright colors instead of saying "Smartscreen protected your pc"
What I've seen some people do, which is kind of malwarey in the sense of that authorities should be trusted is, telling the user to install your own Root Certificate Authority then you sign your own app (and others), you essentially become the service people would usually pay for. Issue is, it will show "Unknown publisher" to anyone that doesn't have that Authority installed.
This approach is not recommended though, it can compromise PC security
Hm, so just get lots of people to download my program?
For smartscreen, yes, your application will still show a scary warning when they try to run it as admin.
Normal running a signed application as admin:
Compared to an unsigned application as admin:
Was this issue resolved? If so, run
/close - otherwise I will mark this as stale and this post will be archived until there is new activity.Oh, wait
So, say I make an installer for my program, that requires the user to run as admin to install the program. Then, will the program itself show the warning still?
Yes
Hm, alright
So just get people to use my program till SmartScreen chills out
Only "exceptions" to that is what T'tk showed here regarding using the Windows store as a packager
Hm, alrighty. Do you have any clue as to how many users need to install said software before SmartScreen chills out? Or are there more requirements?
And if I make an updated version of my app, will that 'reset my progress' on SmartScreen? Or does it track updates and stuff
And I assume you lose control as to where you'd like to install the program if you go with Windows Store
I got no idea for programs specifically no. The closest i've come across for something similar was some of my users getting a browser warning for some of my .dlls back when i was making mods, that usually disappeared after a few hundred downloads
Hundred... alrighty... lol
I'll try to look up some documentation on how much is required and get back to u regarding smartscreen
You could submit it here and see if it goes away: https://www.microsoft.com/wdsi/filesubmission/
Alrighty
Was this issue resolved? If so, run
/close - otherwise I will mark this as stale and this post will be archived until there is new activity.