Enable or Disable Microsoft SmartScreen in Windows 11

This post shows students and new users steps to turn on or off Microsoft Defender SmartScreen for Microsoft Edge in Windows 11. When using the Microsoft Edge browser, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen can help evaluate websites or downloads to see if they are known to be malicious, such as phishing sites or tech support scams.

By default, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen is turned on, which helps protect your device by checking for unrecognized apps and files from the web. If you try to go to a website known to be dangerous, SmartScreen will show you a warning screen that identifies the suspected threat and gives you a chance to close the browser tab before anything wrong can happen.

These protections are built into Windows and work with Microsoft Defender Endpoint on your device and in the cloud. In addition, Microsoft Security includes additional protection such as controlled folder access, real-time protection, Tamper protection, ransomware protection, and phishing protection.

Below is how to turn off or on Microsoft Defender SmartScreen for Edge in Windows 11

How to enable or disable Microsoft Defender SmartScreen for Edge in Windows 11

As mentioned above, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen can help evaluate websites or downloads to see if they are known to be malicious, such as phishing sites or tech support scams.

Turn on or off SmartScreen SmartScreen for Edge:

In the search box on the taskbar, type Windows Security and select Windows Security in the results list.

Select the App & Browser control tile in Windows Security, as highlighted in the image below.

On the App & browser control settings page, under Reputation-based protection, click the Reputation-based protection settings link as highlighted below.

On the Reputation-based protection settings page, under SmartScreen for Microsoft Edge, toggle the button to On or Off to enable or disable apps and files checking with Microsoft Defender.

There are two modes one can choose from:

• On = Warns users that the apps and files downloaded from the web are potentially dangerous but allows the action to continue.
• Off = Turns off Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, so a user isn’t alerted or stopped from downloading potentially malicious apps and files.

Turn On or Off Microsoft Defender SmartScreen in Edge

When you are done turning on Defender SmartScreen for Edge in the Windows Security App, go to your Edge browser and turn on Defender SmartScreen in Edge.

Below is a post that shows you how to do that.

How to turn On or Off Microsoft Defender SmartScreen in Edge

That should do it!

Conclusion:

• Microsoft Defender SmartScreen for Microsoft Edge in Windows 11 provides essential protection by evaluating websites and downloads for potential threats.
• Users can seamlessly enable or disable SmartScreen for Edge by following the provided steps, based on their preferences and security needs.
• Leveraging the built-in reputation-based protection settings, users can fine-tune SmartScreen for Microsoft Edge to warn about potentially dangerous downloads or disable the feature entirely.
• Furthermore, users are encouraged to complement this setup by configuring the corresponding SmartScreen settings within the Edge browser for comprehensive protection against malicious content and activities online.