You might have often come across a message stating, ‘Administrator has blocked you from running the app.’ No doubt, you might have been surprised and even a bit irritated to see this message. For newcomers, what this message means is that there is a protection in place which prevents you from installing harmful applications. In Windows, there are two types, Administrator and Standard user accounts. This means, in Windows 10, only the administrators have the privilege or rights to install software, apps, etc., on the computer. Sometimes the protection is a bit too much as it prevents from installing some practical applications as well.
Reasons for An Administrator Has Blocked You From Running This App:
There are four reasons you see the ‘An Administrator Has Blocked You from Running This App’ message. They are:
- First and foremost, sometimes the message might appear as ‘the Administrator has blocked this app because of security risk.’ Usually, this sort of message appearing is very common to warn you of a security issue or malicious software.
- Secondly, the ‘An administrator has blocked you from running this app Windows 10’ message might appear. This means that the necessary permissions to run the app are not with the user.
- Thirdly, the ‘the system administrator has blocked this program Group policy’ message might appear. This means that there are specific security policies in force. To use the program or app, the user needs to contact the Group Policy Editor or Registry Editor.
- Fourthly, ‘the system administrator has blocked this program”. This message usually appears when you try to use programs such as uTorrent, Avast, etc. In such cases, the easy way out is to disable the antivirus temporarily. Then you can use these programs.
Ways to resolve or fix ‘An Administrator Has Blocked You from Running This App’ message:
An Administrator Has Blocked You from Running This App
Shut down PC:
The first quick solution is to shut down your PC. This method often works for all sorts of errors. Usually, the’ An Administrator Has Blocked You from Running This App’ message appears if you have not logged out from your account for quite some time. Or maybe you have not shut down your PC for some time. The best quick-fix solution is to simply log out and then log in after a few minutes. In most probability, you will not face this error message again.
Antivirus software:
Some antivirus applications prevent the installing or running of certain apps. They block these apps. So, in such circumstances, disable the antivirus temporarily. You can also try uninstalling the antivirus software and then check if you can use the program. If you can do so, then the antivirus software is the reason for the message ‘Administrator has blocked this program. So, then the best-recommended way is to go in for another antivirus solution.
Command prompt:
Another way is by using the Command prompt. From the search bar, type cmd, and it will show the setting ‘Command prompt. Right-click it and then select the setting ‘Run as Administrator’ After that, type ‘cd’ and the location of the folder where the app is stored. After changing the folder location, type the file name along with the file extension. Now the file will run without any hassles.
Check Out : Removing Microsoft account on Windows 10
Activate a hidden administrator account:
If you have an administrator account, you can simply switch to it and install the application. If not, you need to activate the hidden administrator account. The following steps can do this:
- Go to Command prompt as Administrator by following the steps outlined in point 3 above.
- Then type ‘net user administrator / active: yes and press enter key.
- Sign out from the current account and then log into the new administrator account.
- Find the app you want to install and run it.
- On completion of the installation process, you can switch back to your regular administrator account.
- To disable the administrator account, type the command ‘net user administrator /active: no.’
Disable Windows SmartScreen:
From the administrator account, go to the settings. Navigate to the ‘Update & security section and select ‘Windows Defender.’ Open the ‘Windows defender Security Centre’ button and Select the ‘App & browser control’ button. Change the option to ‘Off.’ This is a permanent solution. So, think twice before disabling this feature, as this will result in reduced system security.
Change to administrator account:
Either from the Administrator account or the hidden administrator account, go to the Settings by Pressing Windows key. From there, go to the ‘Accounts’ section. Click on the ‘Family & other people’ button. Then go to your account and then to the “change the account type’ section. Set the account type to ‘Administrator’ and click on ok to save the changes. This solution is best if the pc has only one administrator account.
Move setup files to another location:
As per suggestions from some users, the problematic setup file can be moved to a different location, such as the Desktop, and saved there. Other files needed for installation should also be moved to the new location along with the setup file. Then from the new location, you can try running the setup file again. It should work without any hiccups.
Group Policy changes:
If you get the message ‘An Administrator Has Blocked You from Running This program,’ you need to change the Group Policy settings. Once that is done, you need to shut down and restart your PC. After that, the new Group policies will take effect. Please note changing the Group policy will compromise the security of your computer. The changes in the Group policy can be done by pressing the Windows Key +R. then enter gpedit.msc. After that, click on enter and then ok. From the security settings, go to the security options and select ‘User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode. Select the option ‘Disabled.’ Click on ‘Apply’ and then the ‘ok’ button to save the changes.
CONCLUSION
However, a word of caution is worthy mentioning here. Please check beforehand for the reason to block the app. Sometimes it might be against the company’s policy and sometimes to protect from malicious software.
So use the above guide tips judiciously to avoid compromising the security of your computer.
