Windows 11 just found a way to protect users from themselves and from their own bad judgments. Users on the platform will not be able to run all files that are downloaded from the internet.
Windows 11 Just Found A Way to Protect Users from Themselves
Microsoft has just added a new feature to the windows 11 OS. This new feature will aid in keeping users from malware and phishing attacks. The windows 11 feature here is named Smart App Control. This feature protects against untrusted or malicious apps and now it blocks a couple of new file types whenever they are downloaded from the internet.
To be specific, the service various file type that are now used by cybercriminals after nicrosoft took matters in disabling macros in downloaded office documents and the list includes .lnk, .iso, .img, .vhd, .vhdx, .appref-ms, .bat, .cmd, .chm, .cpl, .js, .jse, .msc, .msp, .reg, .vbe, .vbs, and .wsf files.
Blocking Of Unsafe File Types
One of the popular ways for people to end up with a malware infection is by falling for phishing scams. And although many are easy to pick out for those persons that know about them, many people continuously make it a habit of downloading attachments and following through with web links that they should in the first place.
With the latest windows update, a lot will be done in guarding against mistakes of this origin. “Windows 11 with smart app control blocks iso and lnk files that have mark of the web just like Macros,” Microsoft’s VP for enterprise and OS security David Weston explained in a tweet earlier this week.
Users Will Be met with a Pop-up Message When Attempting to Run Dangerous Files
And users that run these files or want to try to will be met with a pop-up message, saying that “Smart App Control blocked an app that may be unsafe. This file was blocked because files of this type from the internet can be dangerous”.
And while this is certainly a welcome update, the new protection will only be available to all users but a small group of users for now.
Users with Access to the New Microsoft Feature
Firstly, not all users of Windows will be able to benefit from Smart App Control. In fact, reports claim that not even all Windows 11 users will gain access to the feature, as it only works on devices that have a clean Windows 11 installation. Those users however that upgraded from Windows 10 will still have to rely on their own intuition and antivirus programs to keep them safe from various malicious files from the internet.
As for now, the tool is being tested and while at that, it is only available to members of the windows insider program. And if things go as plan, the feature will be bundled into a full, public windows 11 release in the near future.
