An Administrator Has Blocked You From Running This App [Solved]

Installing or running the application is quite simple and easy in Windows 10. Windows 10 OS is aggressive to protect its users from potentially or suspicious software. This is beneficial for the users, but sometimes, it prevents the applications to complete the installation process as well.

At this situation an error message pop-up on the screen: 

“An administrator has blocked you from running this app”

Or

“This app has been blocked for your protection”. 

In case you are also encountering the same error, then resolve this immediately to complete the installation process of the application. 

Easy Hacks to Fix ‘An Administrator Has Blocked You from Running This App’ Error:

There are several ways to get rid of this annoying error. You can try out the hacks that are described below: 

Fix 1: Using the Hidden Administrator Account

By using the hidden administrator account, you can get rid of this error at any time. You can use this method even though you are the only user of your computer. To perform this, you can follow the steps mentioned below: 

• First of all, navigate to the Start menu and type “command prompt” in the search bar. Right-click on the ‘Command Prompt’ option showing as the search result. 
• Afterward, select the ‘Run as Administrator’ option from the list to open the Command Prompt window with admin privileges. 
• Now, type the command “net user administrator /active:yes” in the command line and hit the Enter key from the keyboard to run this command. 
• Once it shows “The command completed successfully” message on the screen of the system, click on the Start menu to sign out from the current session. 
• Next, tap on the Account logo and then choose the ‘Sign out’ option from the list. Now, you can sign in to the Administrator account and then wait for a few times. 
• Afterward, search for the file that you wish to install and click on the Install button. Sign out from your Administrator account and then you can go back to your original account.

After performing the above steps, if you still notice that the error still appears, then you can disable the hidden Administrator account. 

To do this, open the Command Prompt once again with administrator rights. Then, execute the command “net user administrator /active:no.”

Fix 2: Disable Windows SmartScreen

SmartScreen is a cloud-based in-built component that comes with Windows OS that helps the users to protect their computer. However, sometimes SmartScreen prevents some executable files to open in order to protect the system. Hence, you can disable it to get rid of this error effortlessly. 

How to Disable Windows SmartScreen? 

To disable Windows SmartScreen, you can take a look at the steps mentioned below: 

1. In the beginning, search for the file that you wish to install or run. Then, right-click on that and choose the Properties option from the list. 
2. Tick the Unblock box. It will bypass the SmartScreen since you have marked this file as safe. 
3. Afterward, try to run or install the file once again. 

If the error still not solved, you can disable Windows SmartScreen briefly to run the file. Re-enable it once again or you risk the computer to malware. To do this, perform the steps as follows: 

• First, go to the Start menu and type ‘windows defender security center’ in the search field. 
• Then, click on the top of it to expand the menu. Then, open the ‘App and browser control’ section. 
• Navigate to the ‘Check apps and files’ category. Then, turn it off. 
• Afterward, you can try to run the file again. 

 After finishing the installation process, confirm that you have re-enabled the Windows SmartScreen by following the same procedure. Afterward, tap on the ‘Block’ button by going to the ‘Check apps and files’ category. 

Fix 3: Try to Run the File Using the Command Prompt

If you run the Command Prompt with administrator right, then it can give you some more control on your computer. Hence, you can use this to run the problematic file.

To perform this, you can perform the steps given below: 

1. First and foremost, locate the problematic file and right-click on it. Choose the Properties option from the list. 
2. Afterward, copy the full location of the problematic file. 
3. Next, open the Command Prompt with administrator privilege and paste the location in the command line. Here, you have to add the ‘.exe’ at the end of the location. 
4. Click on the Enter button and then you can check if the issue is fixed. 

Fix 4: Disable the Antivirus

The ‘An administrator has blocked you from running this app’ error might appear due to the third-party antivirus program installed on your computer. Hence, you can disable the antivirus to check if it can help you to get rid of this error. 

How to Disable Antivirus Program? 

To disable the antivirus program, you can follow the below steps: 

1. First, go to the System tray and locate the antivirus program. Then, right-click on it. 
2. Now, choose the ‘Disable’ option from the list.

Adding an Exception: 

To add an exception, you can go through the steps mentioned below: 

• First of all, launch the antivirus program and tap on the Scan button. 
• Afterward, tap on the ‘Add an Exception’ option and then choose the ‘Add Folder’ option from the next page. 
• Choose the folder where you have installed the application. 
• Now, you can try to run the application once again to check if the error is resolved or not.