Windows 8 has come with newer security features – Windows SmartScreen being one of them. Windows SmartScreen can help you stay safer by warning you before running unrecognized programs downloaded from the Internet. SmartScreen requires internet connection to work. When you try to run a program, SmartScreen sends the information to Microsoft and fetches data as to running that program is safe or not. If you temporarily do not have an internet connection, then SmartScreen blocks every unrecognized program that you downloaded from the internet from running unless you specifically ask to run it. This is not only a privacy problem (as Microsoft is getting information about all the programs you run) but also a pain if you do not have an internet connection but try to run a program you downloaded earlier. So if you are tired of clicking on the SmartScreen window everytime you run a downloaded program, then you can turn off the Windows SmartScreen feature. Here is how :
- Switch to the Desktop mode by clicking on the Desktop tile in the Metro UI or by pressing the Windows logo key on your keyboard.
- Press the key combination Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog. In the Run dialog, type SmartScreenSettings.exe and click OK as shown.
- In the Windows SmartScreen settings window, select the option Turn off Windows SmartScreen. Then click on the OK button to save the settings.
- That’s it. You have successfully turned off the Windows SmartScreen feature in Windows 8.