Block app from running windows 10

May 9, 2016 updated by Leave a reply »

Whether you’re sharing a computer with other family members or friends at home, or securing computers in a corporate environment, there may be some situations where you need to block a user account from running a certain application.

In previous post we’ve explained a way to prevent a program from running using Group Policy. Here’s another way to block a certain application from running in Windows 10, by using a registry hack. This method works with all editions of Windows 10, 8 and 7.

How to Block An Application from Running in Windows 10?

1. Hold down the Windows Key and press R to bring up the Run dialog box. Type regedit and press Enter.
2. In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following key:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies
3. In the left pane, right-click on Policies, and then select New -> Key, type in Explorer and press Enter. If the Explorer key already exists, just skip this step.

4. Select the Explorer key on the left pane. Right-click a blank area on the right side, select New -> DWORD [32-bit] Value.

5. Rename the newly-created entry to DisallowRun, and set its value to 1.

6. Right-click on the Explorer key on the left pane, and then select New -> Key, type in DisallowRun and press Enter.

7. Select the DisallowRun key on the left pane. Right-click on an empty space and select New -> String Value.

8. Name the new entry with the number 1 and set its value to the name of the application[.exe] that you want to block. If you want to restrict more programs, simply create more String entries with names 2, 3 and so on and set their values to the program’s exe file.

9. Restart your computer and try to run the blocked applications and you’ll get the error message “This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator.”

I should mention that if the user is smart enough to rename the program file, they will be able to run the program again. If this method does not meet your needs, you can use the Protect My Folders to deny access [read/modify/run/rename/copy/delete] to any application in Windows 10.

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1. 1

   Open Start

   . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. This will open the Start menu.

2. 2

   Click ☰. It's in the top-left corner of the Start menu. A pop-out menu will appear on the left side.

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3. 3

   Click All apps. This option is in the upper-left side of the Start menu.

4. 4

   Find the program you want to block. Scroll down until you find the app icon for the program you want to block.

   • You may need to click a folder to view the program's app icon. For example, if you want to block Notepad, you would scroll down and click the "Windows Accessories" folder to reveal the Notepad app icon.

5. 5

   Right-click the program. Doing so prompts a drop-down menu.

6. 6

   Select More. It's in the drop-down menu. This will open a pop-out window.

7. 7

   Click Open file location. This option is in the pop-out window. Doing so opens the file location of the program's shortcut in File Explorer.

8. 8

   Right-click the program's shortcut file. You'll find it in the File Explorer window. A drop-down menu will appear.

9. 9

   Click Open file location. It's in the drop-down menu. This opens the program's actual file location.

10. 10

    Right-click the program's icon, then click Properties. Doing so opens the Properties window for the program in question.

11. 11

    Review the file's name and extension. The file's name is listed in the text box at the top of the Properties window, while the extension is in parentheses to the right of the "Type of file" heading. You'll combine these two [e.g., "name.extension"] to create the file's name in the Registry Editor.

    • The extension will almost always be ".exe".
    • For example, if you looked up the file location of Notepad, you'd find that its name is "notepad.exe".

12. 12

    Remember the file's name and extension for later. This is what you'll plug into the Registry Editor in order to block the program.

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1. 1

   Open Start

   . Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
   • You'll want to do this on the user account for the person for whom you want to block this application.

2. 2

   Type regedit into Start. Doing so searches your computer for the Registry Editor program.

3. 3

   Click regedit. It's a blue cluster of cubes at the top of the Start window.

4. 4

   Click Yes when prompted. This will prompt Registry Editor to open.

   • If you aren't an administrator, you won't be able to open the Registry Editor.

5. 5

   Navigate to the "Policies" folder. To do so:

   • Double-click the "HKEY_CURRENT_USER" folder in the top-left side of the window.
   • Double-click the "Software" folder below "HKEY_CURRENT_USER".
   • Double-click the "Microsoft" folder.
   • Double-click the "Windows" folder.
   • Double-click the "CurrentVersion" folder.

6. 6

   Click the "Policies" folder. It's in the list of folders below the "CurrentVersion" folder. Doing so will display the folder's contents in the window on the right side of the page.

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1. 1

   Make sure there isn't already an "Explorer" folder. If you see a folder labeled "Explorer" in the "Policies" folder contents that are listed in the right-hand pane, you can skip ahead to the "Select the 'Explorer' folder" step of this method.

   • If there isn't an "Explorer" folder, you'll need to create one.

2. 2

   Click Edit. This tab is in the upper-left side of the Registry Editor window. Clicking it results in a drop-down menu.

   • The menus in the upper-left side of the window apply to whichever folder is open at the time.

3. 3

   Select New. It's at the top of the Edit drop-down menu. Selecting it prompts a pop-out window to appear.

4. 4

   Click Key. This option is at the top of the pop-out window. A new folder will appear below the "Policies" folder on the left-hand side of the window.

5. 5

   Type in Explorer and press ↵ Enter. This will create a new folder that's titled "Explorer" in the "Policies" folder.

6. 6

   Select the "Explorer" folder. Click this folder in the left-hand column.

7. 7

   Click Edit. It's in the upper-left side of the window.

8. 8

   Select New. The pop-out menu will reappear.

9. 9

   Click DWORD [32-bit] Value. This will create a new DWORD value inside of the "Explorer" folder.

10. 10

    Type in DisallowRun and press ↵ Enter. Doing so renames your DWORD value as "DisallowRun".

11. 11

    Double-click DisallowRun. This will open the "DisallowRun" value.

12. 12

    Change the "DisallowRun" value to "1". Type 1 into the "Value data" field, then click OK.

13. 13

    Select the "Explorer" folder. Click this folder in the left-hand column again.

14. 14

    Create a new folder. Click Edit, select New, and click Key.

15. 15

    Type in DisallowRun and press ↵ Enter. This creates a new folder inside of the "Explorer" folder titled "DisallowRun".

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1. 1

   Select the "DisallowRun" folder. Click this folder below the "Explorer" folder on the left side of the window.

2. 2

   Create a new string value. Click Edit, select New, and click String Value.

3. 3

   Type in 1 and press ↵ Enter. This will name your string value "1".

4. 4

   Open the string value. Double-click the 1 string value to open it.

5. 5

   Enter your application's name. Click the "Value data" field, then type in the name and extension of the application that you checked in part one.

   • For example, to block Notepad, you would type in notepad.exe here.

6. 6

   Click OK. Doing so saves your string value. This string value will prevent the specified program from being opened.

   • If you want to add subsequent string values for other programs, name them in numerical order [e.g., "2", "3", "4", etc.].

7. 7

   Close the Registry Editor. At this point, you should no longer be able to open the program, but you may need to restart your computer before these changes take effect.

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Add New Question

• Question

  When creating a registry hack with Notepad. Do I save the file type as unicode?

  If the file doesn't contain any non-ordinary characters [such as from emojis or text from another language], then you can save it as any file type you want.

• Question

  I couldn't rename the Key under "explorer" to DissallowRun it gave an error message. I tried with "Disallow" only.

  Click Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Windows Task Manager and select your app and click on "End Process".

• Question

  Will the icon for the app still be visible if I do this?

  Yes it is still visible, because it is not deleted. You could hide the file via external Software if you wanted.

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• If you have Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise, you can block programs through Group Policy Editor. Detailed instructions for doing so can be found on the Microsoft website.

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• Be careful when editing the registry. Changing or deleting any values not explicitly covered in this article can cause damage to your computer.

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• Users can still run blocked EXE files by changing the files' names. This won't always work, but it's something to keep in mind.

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About This Article

Article SummaryX

1. Find the full name and extension of the program.
2. Open the Registry Editor.
3. Open the Policies folder.
4. Create a new key for blocked programs.
5. Create a new string value for the program you want to block inside.

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Is this article up to date?

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