The underlying issue here is Microsoft's so-called "Mark-of-the-Web (MOTW)."
Under some conditions, but not all, the MOTW can be avoided by using winget. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_of_the_Web > On 10/16/2026 11:40 AM PDT Wm Tarr <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Does anyone know for certain if the Defender warning is connected to the > source, i.e. Sourceforge vs github or the method, i.e. winget vs browser ? > > I'll be trying winget next time, I think., thanks, Mike. > > Wm > > On 2026-10-16 18:40, Mike Brady wrote: > > If you're running Windows 11, I'd recommend doing maintenance upgrades > > using WINGET, a built-in tool in Windows 11 (and, iirc, later versions > > of 10). It runs in a terminal or command window which can be accessed > > several ways; I use Windows-X then choose "Terminal" (*not* "Terminal > > (Admin)" but I'm logged in with a MS Account so I'm effectively a > > local Admin anyway). "Winget show gnucash" provides the name used for > > the respository latest version and the latest release notes. "Winget > > upgrade gnucash" checks for the status of what's in your computer and > > if there's and upgrade available will proceed to download (from > > github) and do it. The only prompt you might see after that is the one > > asking if you want to allow changes to your computer (or asking for an > > admin password if you're not in a local admin account login). Doing > > the upgrade this way seems to bypass the Defender and SmartScreen > > checks that trigger the warnings, and sometimes seems to run more > > quickly too. > > > > Mike > > > > On 10/16/2026 0:44, [email protected] wrote: > >> Message: 1 > >> Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2026 18:04:43 -0600 > >> From: Tom Route36 <[email protected]> > >> To: [email protected] > >> Cc: 'GnuCash' <[email protected]> > >> Subject: Re: [GNC] Cannot install GnuCash on Windows > >> Message-ID: <[email protected]> > >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed > >> > >> Hi Larry, > >> > >> I'm running Windows 11; and just a few minutes ago I upgraded GnuCash > >> from version 5.16 to 5.17.? As you saw and noted, I also got a Microsoft > >> Defender popup warning me that the GnuCash file might put my PC at > >> risk.? But on that same popup window with the warning there was also a > >> link there for "More Info".? When I clicked that link, the next popup > >> window gave me the option to "Run Anyway". Clicking on that link allowed > >> me to run the installation, which by the way completed successfully.? So > >> I'm now on 5.17. > >> > >> Did you have a link on your popup warning window for "More Info"? And > >> did you try clicking that to continue? > >> > >> Tom > >> > > _______________________________________________ > > gnucash-user mailing list > > [email protected] > > To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: > > https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user > > ----- > > Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. > > You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. > _______________________________________________ > gnucash-user mailing list > [email protected] > To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: > https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user > ----- > Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. > You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list [email protected] To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
