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The Good and the Bad of Windows 11’s New Smart App Control
The new security feature does help to address the growing ransomware issue. But it’s not perfect.
One of the more interesting security features to be introduced in Windows 11 22H2 is Smart App Control. As the name implies, Smart App Control is a tool that is designed to keep dangerous apps (such as ransomware or spyware) from running on a Windows 11 system.
The idea behind Smart App Control is really simple. When you launch an app, Windows consults a cloud database to see what is known about the app. If the app is known to be safe, then it is allowed to run as usual. If the app is considered to be unsafe or malicious, then Windows prevents it from running.
This of course raises the question of what happens if the app that you are trying to run is not listed in the database or if you are working offline and Windows cannot access the database? In those cases, Windows will use the app’s signature as a secondary means of validating the app. If the app’s signature is valid then the app is assumed to be valid. If on the other hand, the app us unsigned or if the signature is not valid then the app is prevented from running.
As you can see, the Smart App Control feature could go a long way in helping organizations to prevent ransomware infections and to prevent the installation of potentially unwanted programs. For those who may be unfamiliar with term, potentially unwanted programs are those applications that get sneakily bundled with something else. For example, there are download sites that will try to trick you into installing a browser toolbar when you download an application.
Based on the limited testing that I have done with Smart App Control, it does seem to be effective. Better still, using it could not be simpler. To use Smart App Control, click on Settings and then go to App and Browser Control. Now, click on Smart App Control Settings to access the Smart App Control interface.
Smart App Control has three modes of operation: On, Off and Evaluation. The On and Off modes are self-explanatory, but the Evaluation mode needs a bit more explaining. When you enable Evaluation mode, you are essentially telling Windows to watch how you use your PC. In doing so, Windows will make a determination as to whether or not Smart App Control is a good fit for you based on the types of applications that you use. If Windows finds that Smart App Control is going to get in your way then it will automatically turn it off. Otherwise, Smart App Control will eventually be automatically enabled.
As great as all of this may sound, there are two potential downsides to using Smart App Control, although there is a good reason for at least one of those downsides.
The first downside (the one with the good reason) is that even if you upgrade to Windows 11 22H2, you can’t use Smart App Control. Yes, you read that correctly. Microsoft has given you a shiny new security feature that it will not allow you to use.
As it turns out, you can only enable Smart App Control on a clean Windows installation, as shown in Figure 1</…….