Block websites from downloading files

One of the ways Windows Defender keeps your computer safe from internet evils is by employing its SmartScreen tool to keep you from downloading potentially harmful files or visiting malicious sites.

On some occasions, however, you may find SmartScreen overstepping its bounds and blocking you from downloading a file you know to be safe. I don't recommend turning SmartScreen off completely because it is helpful in preventing you from downloading a malicious file or app, but you can disable it in Microsoft's Edge browser if you want to override its protection and go ahead and download a file it doesn't recognize.

Cybersecurity : Proactively prevent the inadvertent or malicious downloading of harmful software such as malware ransomware, viruses, worms, spyware, etc. Piracy Prevention : In some circumstances, employers can be held liable for copyright infringement caused by their employees engaging in piracy with company resources. Piracy platforms are also a significant vector for malware transmission as they attract cybercriminals that mask malware as the intended file to be downloaded.

Bandwidth Efficiency : Employees that download large non-work files such as videos and music can cause a significant strain on your bandwidth, resulting in reduced productivity from slow internet speeds. Employee Productivity : Employees can abuse your network to download video games to their work machines, wasting significant work time on unnecessary distractions.

Examples of Multimedia Files. Blocked List File types placed in the blocked list for a given user, machine, or workgroup will be explicitly not permitted for download by them.

How to use Download Filter. How to use Category Filter. Click on Local group policy editor icon on the search result. This will open the Group Policy Editor. Step 2 — Under User configuration , double click on Administrative Templates to expand it. This method is effective in removing the unnecessary security block imposed by the windows on files downloaded from the internet.

Saurav is associated with IT industry and computers for more than a decade and is writing on The Geek Page on topics revolving on windows 10 and softwares. Any fix for that? File types that you have deemed to be unnecessarily risky, unproductive, or otherwise inappropriate should be added to this list. Select Download Filter. Click on the Add link under the File Type column for the category that you just created. This is the location from which you'll download Block Site.

This blue button is in the middle side of the page. You may have to scroll down to see it. Click Add when prompted. This is also at the top of the window. Doing so will install Block Site in your Firefox browser. Click the Block Site app icon. It's an orange, shield-shaped icon in the upper-right side of the window. You may have to click Got it in the drop-down menu before proceeding.

This is in the drop-down menu. You can also click the gear-shaped icon in the top-right corner of the drop-down menu to open the Block Site page. A password text box will appear at the bottom of the page. Type your preferred password of at least 5 characters into the text box at the bottom of the page. Find notepad. Not Helpful 13 Helpful This may happen when a user might not be authorized to save or modify certain system files in Windows OS platform.

To change this, locate the file that you wish to modify. Right-click on the file and select Properties. This opens a pop-up window with tools to tweak the file. To allow permission, click on the Edit button and on the new pop-up window, highlight the User again and tick the items below to provide necessary permissions. Not Helpful 9 Helpful 6.

Open Notepad as an administrator. Not Helpful 8 Helpful 4. Not Helpful 11 Helpful 4. The process for Windows 7 is similar to the Windows 10 instructions in the article. Type "notepad" into the text box at the bottom of Start, right-click Notepad and select the "Administrator" option, and then follow the instructions from there.

Not Helpful 2 Helpful 1. If you already blocked the site in the "hosts" file, removing the blocked site's line including the " If you're trying to get around a blocked website on a computer that isn't yours, you'll have to use a proxy website, a VPN, or Tor.

Not Helpful 1 Helpful 3. You should have an Administrator account or run notepad as Admin and copy the host file code in there. Not Helpful 2 Helpful 0. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. If your computer has a separate account for a child, you can use parental controls to monitor and restrict their browsing.

Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1. Blocking websites with the "hosts" file is a good way to prevent any browsers from opening them, but people can still get around the block by using the mobile version of the website s in question.

Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0. Related wikiHows How to. How to.