--- title: "Install SMBAct on Windows: Edge download warning and SmartScreen" description: "Install SMBAct on Windows: keep the download in Edge (“isn't commonly downloaded”) and get past “Windows protected your PC” with More info › Run anyway." canonical: https://smblob.com/products/smbact/documentation/install-windows/ date: 2026-11-08 locale: en --- # Install SMBAct on Windows: Edge download warning and SmartScreen > Markdown version of https://smblob.com/products/smbact/documentation/install-windows/ > Same content as the HTML page without navigation, styling or scripts. Cite the HTML URL. > Site structure and the full page list for agents: https://smblob.com/llms.txt Install SMBAct on Windows: keep the download in Edge (“isn't commonly downloaded”) and get past “Windows protected your PC” with More info › Run anyway. [SMBAct](https://smblob.com/products/smbact/) › [Documentation](https://smblob.com/products/smbact/documentation/) › Install on Windows ## Install SMBAct on Windows The Windows builds of SMBAct (`.exe` and `.msi`, x64) are not yet signed with a Microsoft code-signing certificate, so **Microsoft Defender SmartScreen** is wary of the downloaded file. You will see up to two warnings: 1. **In the browser, on download:** Edge warns that the file “isn’t commonly downloaded”. 2. **On first launch:** the blue “Windows protected your PC” window. Both disappear once the build is signed or has built enough reputation. Until then, here is how to get through them. Screenshots: Windows 10 22H2, Microsoft Edge, SMBAct 2.0.0 downloaded from the [download page](https://smblob.com/products/smbact/download/). ## Short version > - In Edge: **…** next to the file › **Keep** › the arrow next to **Delete** › **Keep anyway**. > - On first launch, in “Windows protected your PC”: **More info** › **Run anyway**. ## 1. Downloading in Edge After the download Edge does not show the file as finished. The Downloads panel says that the file “isn’t commonly downloaded. Make sure you trust it before you open it.” ![Edge Downloads panel: SMBAct-…-win32-x64.exe isn't commonly downloaded](https://smblob.com/docs/smbact/install-windows/edge-not-commonly-downloaded.webp) Hover over the line, click **…** (More actions), then **Keep**. ![Edge More actions menu with Delete and Keep](https://smblob.com/docs/smbact/install-windows/edge-menu-keep.webp) Edge asks again: “Microsoft Defender SmartScreen couldn’t verify if this file is safe because it isn’t commonly downloaded… Publisher: Unknown”. ![Edge dialog “Make sure you trust … before you open it” with a Delete button](https://smblob.com/docs/smbact/install-windows/edge-make-sure-you-trust.webp) The main button here is **Delete**. Keeping the file is hidden under the **arrow** next to it: click the arrow, then **Keep anyway**. ![Edge dialog with the Keep anyway option under the arrow next to Delete](https://smblob.com/docs/smbact/install-windows/edge-keep-anyway.webp) Now the file is downloaded and has an **Open file** link. ![Edge Downloads panel: SMBAct installer downloaded, Open file link](https://smblob.com/docs/smbact/install-windows/edge-downloaded.webp) Chrome and Firefox may show a similar warning of their own, or none at all. The SmartScreen window on launch (next step) appears anyway: Windows raises it, not the browser. ## 2. First launch: “Windows protected your PC” On first launch — from Edge’s **Open file**, by double-clicking in Explorer, or from the `.msi` — Windows shows the SmartScreen window: “Microsoft Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognised app from starting.” The only button, **Don’t run**, does not start the app. ![Windows protected your PC: SmartScreen window with a Don't run button](https://smblob.com/docs/smbact/install-windows/smartscreen.webp) Click the **More info** link under the text. The window shows the file name and **Publisher: Unknown publisher**, and a second button appears: **Run anyway**. ![SmartScreen after More info: application SMBAct-…-win32-x64.exe, Unknown publisher, Run anyway and Don't run buttons](https://smblob.com/docs/smbact/install-windows/smartscreen-more-info.webp) **Run anyway** starts SMBAct. Windows remembers the choice for this file, and the window does not come back on later launches. ## Good to know - SmartScreen checks files that the browser marked as downloaded from the internet. Another way to remove the mark by hand: right-click the file › **Properties** › tick **Unblock** › **OK**. - Windows Firewall does not ask anything about SMBAct: it listens only on `127.0.0.1` (its local MCP server), and loopback connections are not filtered. - macOS shows no such warnings: the app is signed and notarized by Apple — see [Install SMBAct on macOS](https://smblob.com/products/smbact/documentation/install-macos/). On Linux the AppImage only needs execute permission (`chmod +x`). - After the first start, activate SMBAct or start the 14-day trial on the **License** page — see [Activation](https://smblob.com/products/smbact/documentation/#activation). ## Other platform guides - [Install SMBAct on macOS](https://smblob.com/products/smbact/documentation/install-macos/) — the dmg, the first open and the Accessibility and Screen Recording permissions. - [SMBAct on Ubuntu GNOME (Wayland)](https://smblob.com/products/smbact/documentation/gnome-wayland/) — installing and updating the GNOME Shell extension. - [SMBAct on KDE Plasma (Wayland)](https://smblob.com/products/smbact/documentation/kde-plasma-wayland/) — nothing to install, and what to do about Plasma’s own shortcuts. - [Download SMBAct](https://smblob.com/products/smbact/download/) · [Documentation](https://smblob.com/products/smbact/documentation/) · [Control windows with keyboard](https://smblob.com/products/smbact/features/control-with-keyboard/) ## Related - HTML version of this page: https://smblob.com/products/smbact/documentation/install-windows/ - Site map for agents: https://smblob.com/llms.txt