Chose the folder you want to protect, then click the “Select Folder” button. Adding a folder to the protected folder list will keep apps from writing to it without permission.įrom there, you can navigate to the folder you want to protect and click the “Select Folder” button. If you want to protect additional folders from ransomware, like your Desktop folder (which isn’t protected by default), you can select “Protected folders” and click the “Add a protected folder” button.
(We’ll go over how to do that in a moment.) An example of the types of errors you may encounter: FireFox’s download screen said the file I was trying to save could not be found. If it’s the app you’ve been having issues with, you’ll want to add it to the list of programs that can make changes.
“Block history” lets you see what app was blocked and what folder it was trying to write to. The block history screen shows you which apps have tried to write to protected folders.
If you see a weird error popping up after turning on Controlled folder access (one common error I found during testing was getting a “This file cannot be found” message when trying to save a file), you may want to check “Block history” to see if Windows Security has been keeping that app from making changes. Block historyĪccording to a statement in one Windows security page, apps “determined by Microsoft as friendly” will always be allowed to make changes to your protected folders, but that doesn’t mean that every app you’ll want to use will be allowed by default. You can, for example, add other folders that you want to protect using the “Protected folders” screen and manage which apps are allowed to make changes to protected folders using the “Allow an app through Controlled folder access” screen. These apps let you tweak how the system works. Once you switch Controlled folder access on, you’ll see three more control panes: “Block history,” “Protected folders,” and “Allow an app through Controlled folder access.” By default, Controlled folder access will only allow a list of approved apps to make any changes to files in the Documents, Pictures, Videos, and Music folders on your computer. Switching on the “Controlled folder access” feature ensures that unauthorized apps can’t make changes to files in certain protected folders. To turn on ransomware protection, go to “Virus and threat protection” and click “Manage ransomware protection.” Click on the “Manage ransomware protection” link to get to the Ransomware protection page.įrom there, you can turn on a feature called “Controlled folder access,” which will make it so that unapproved apps won’t be able to make changes to your documents, pictures, videos, or music folders.
To get to it, either search “Windows Security” from the start menu or go to “Settings”> “Privacy & Security”> “Windows Security.” Once you’re in Windows Security, go to “Virus & threat protection,” either by clicking the tile or the button in the sidebar on the left. Windows’ built-in ransomware protection is included in its security app.
This, however, can cause some problems with apps that aren’t expecting it, so you may have to do some occasional trouble-shooting if you’ve got ransomware protection turned on.Īs a result, as we go over how to enable ransomware protection, it’s worth keeping in mind that there will probably be some tinkering involved with this process. It works by only letting approved apps make changes to your files - which, in theory, prevents ransomware from encrypting them and locking them away. However, before you do, it is worth noting that this feature is not on by default for a reason. The second level is Windows’ ransomware protection, which you have to turn on manually.