getting constantly blocked by Windows Security

[pohlipit23]

Quite often on a new release the node module get's blocked by Windows Security. This is the only package/module having this issue. I've tried all possible exclusions but nothing works.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-malware-protection/smart-app-control-has-blocked-part-of-this-app

Any ideas?

[lizhengfeng101]

Quite often on a new release the node module get's blocked by Windows Security. This is the only package/module having this issue. I've tried all possible exclusions but nothing works.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-malware-protection/smart-app-control-has-blocked-part-of-this-app

Any ideas?

@pohlipit23 The previous version did not encounter this problem, right?

[pohlipit23]

I had this on 3 version releases. The last one 1.8.3 has the problem so I had to disable windows app security to make it work

[lizhengfeng101]

Hi @pohlipit23, thanks for reporting this.

This happens because our Windows binaries are not code-signed yet. Windows Smart App Control blocks executables that lack a trusted digital signature, and since we compile with Go and ship unsigned .exe files, they get flagged.

Workaround for now:

1. Open Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control settings
2. Set Smart App Control to Off (or "Warn" if available on your Windows version)
3. Alternatively, you can right-click the blocked .exe, go to Properties, and check Unblock at the bottom of the General tab

If the "Unblock" option doesn't appear, try running this in PowerShell (as admin):

Get-ChildItem -Path "$(npm root -g)\open-code-review" -Recurse -Filter *.exe | Unblock-File

Long-term fix:

We're looking into adding Windows code signing (Authenticode) to our release pipeline. This should resolve the issue permanently. Tracking this internally.

Sorry for the inconvenience — appreciate you flagging it.