Smart App Control

Users of modern versions of Windows 11 have a powerful security feature for keeping their devices secure, known as Smart App Control. I’ve talked about this feature a few times over the last year, but in April 2026, a powerful improvement landed. Previously, Smart App Control could not be turned back on if you ever turned it off. That limitation has been removed in Windows 11 version 25H2, making the feature far more practical to use and try out. What is Smart App Control? While Windows’ SmartScreen AppRep feature only checks the reputation of the entry point program (typically a .exe file) from an untrusted origin (like the Internet), Windows 11’s Smart App Control goes further than SmartScreen and evaluates trust/signatures of all code (DLLs, scripts, etc) that is loaded by the Windows OS Loader and script engines. This provides a broader range of protection (somewhat akin to Gatekeeper on MacOS) and addresses AppRep bypasses like DLL hijacking. If a code file is unsigned, Windows…