The new Microsoft Edge browser has adopted the Chromium open-source project code base and offers better web compatibility and performance over the legacy edge. Microsoft Edge browser is cross-platform and supports all Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. If you’re currently using Edge and want to learn how to configure Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, and help protect your computer, the steps below should show you how to do it. Microsoft Defender SmartScreen provides warning messages to help protect you from potentially untrusted and phishing websites and malicious software. SmartScreen filter can also help you from downloading and installing malware (malicious software) on your computers. By default, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen is turned on, and it’s recommended to leave it on to protect your computer and privacy. Although Microsoft Defender SmartScreen is helpful, it can also be annoying in some environments. In cases where you already have robust protection in place, you can disable SmartScreen to help mitigate some of the issues users face with SmartScreen being on. To get started with configuring Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, follow the steps below:
Turn on Microsoft Defender SmartScreen in Edge
To enable or disable “Microsoft Defender SmartScreen” in Edge, open Microsoft Edge and click the 3 horizontal dots ( . ) at the top right corner of your screen as shown in the image below. When the Settings page opens, click on Privacy, search, and services on the left side. Under Security on the right, click on Microsoft Defender SmartScreen and enable or disable it. If you enable this setting, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen is turned on. If you disable this setting, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen is turned off.
Turn on Microsoft Defender SmartScreen in Edge via the registry
You can also enable or disable Microsoft Defender SmartScreen in the Microsoft Edge feature from the Windows registry. If you’re logged in as an administrator, you can also enable this feature via the Windows registry. To do that, use the steps below: Using the Windows registry is one way to force all users on the system to configure Microsoft Defender SmartScreen. There are multiple ways to do this in Windows, however, using the Windows registry is the easiest and most effective way to do it. To enable, press the Windows Key + R on your keyboard to open the run command box. Or use the search function to search for the Run app. In the command box, type the commands below and press Enter. When the Windows registry opens, navigate to the path below. If you don’t see the Edge key, create one. From there, right-click on the Edge key and select the New > DWORD (32-bit) Value option to create a REG_DWORD value if you don’t see an existing SmartScreenEnabled value already created. If you don’t see the Edge key or folder, create one. Name the new DWORD value as: After saving the DWORD above, double-click it to open. Then enter the value of 1 to enable. 0 to disable. (delete) = Default0 = Always disabled 1 = Always enabled If you enable this setting, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen is turned on. If you disable this setting, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen is turned off. That should do it! Conclusion: This post showed you how to disable or enable the “Microsoft Defender SmartScreen” feature in the Microsoft Edge browser. If you find any error above, please use the comment form below to report.
