[Windows 10 Fix] “Your Organization Used Windows Defender Application Control to Block This App” Error Message

I have received several emails and comments from readers regarding this problem. This problem occurs in Windows 10 operating system. When a user tries to launch any program or app, the program doesn’t start and Windows shows following error message:

Two buttons are given in the error message window: Copy to clipboard and Close button.

This error message not only appears for 3rd party installed software programs such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Office but also appears for built-in default programs and tools such as Command Prompt, Registry Editor, etc. Even if the user tries to launch Windows Store or other UWP (modern/metro) apps, Windows shows similar error message such as “Something bad happened. Unknown layout specified in manifest“.

I did a lot of research on my various Windows 10 machines and finally I was able to reproduce this issue. There might be different reasons behind this problem like incorrect Windows 10 edition installed by mistake, a bug present in Windows 10 which appears on selected machines in selected conditions, etc.

In this article, I’ll try to cover all possible reasons and solutions to help you in fixing this annoying issue.

If you are also facing this irritating issue in Windows 10 computer, try following solutions to get rid of this error message:

SOLUTION 1: Disable Secure Boot Option in BIOS Settings

Sometimes this issue might occur due to “Secure Boot” option enabled in your computer’s BIOS settings. Many readers have reported that disabling the secure boot option helped them in fixing this issue.

So first of all you should try to turn off secure boot option using following steps:

1. You’ll need to enter BIOS setup. Following tutorial will help you in entering BIOS setup screen in your computer system:

How to Enter BIOS Settings on Your Windows PC?

2. Once you enter into BIOS settings page, look for Secure Boot option. The option location will be different in different brand machines. The most common location of this option is “Security” menu. If you don’t see “Security” menu in your BIOS settings or if the Secure Boot option is not available on Security page, look into other sections like “Authentication“, “Boot“, etc.

In some new machines, you might get the secure boot option directly available on settings page.

3. Once you find “Secure Boot” option, set it to Disabled. You may need to use Enter or arrow keys to change its value.

PS: If you also see an option to clear existing or previous secure boot settings, use that option to reset the settings. Also if you see an option to enable/disable Trusted Platform Module (TPM) feature, disable that as well.

4. After making changes, you’ll need to save BIOS settings. Again a key press will be required to save BIOS settings which is generally mentioned at the bottom or in right-side pane. The most common key to save BIOS settings is F10. In newer machines, a new GUI is shown for BIOS settings which contains Apply button to save changes.

Once you make changes and save BIOS settings, your computer will restart and if everything goes right, your Windows will boot properly and now you should be able to launch all programs in Windows 10 without receiving any error message.

PS: If disabling secure boot option causes any problem to you, you can re-enable the option using the same steps in BIOS settings. Just set the secure boot option to Enabled again and save settings.

SOLUTION 2: Disable Secure Boot Using Advanced Boot Options Screen

If you can’t enter into BIOS settings, there is another way to disable Secure Boot option in your computer to fix this issue.

Windows 10 allows users to access an advanced boot options screen also known as recovery options screen which can be used to change UEFI/BIOS firmware settings to enable/disable secure boot option.

1. While your computer is running Windows 10, click on Start button and then click on Power button present at the bottom-left corner of Start Menu.

2. Press and hold SHIFT key while clicking on Restart option. It’ll launch Windows 10 boot options screen.

3. Now click on Troubleshoot option present on the screen. It’ll launch Advanced options screen.

4. Now you’ll see UEFI Firmware Settings option on the screen.

Click on the option and your computer will restart into UEFI firmware settings.

PS: You can also use shutdown /r /fw command in RUN dialog box to direct restart your computer into UEFI firmware settings screen.

5. Now you’ll get options to disable Secure Boot Control and Trusted Platform Module (TPM). Disable both these options and also select option to “Delete all secure boot keys“.

That’s it. Once you disable Secure Boot feature in Windows 10, it should solve your problem.

NOTE: If disabling secure boot option doesn’t work for you. You can try following other methods to troubleshoot the issue:

SOLUTION 3: Disable Windows Defender App and Browser Control Feature

Sometimes Windows Defender SmartScreen feature might also cause this issue. You can turn off this feature to fix the issue.

Following tutorial provides the required steps to disable SmartScreen feature in Windows 10:

[Tip] How to Disable Windows Defender SmartScreen Filter in Windows 10

SOLUTION 4: Disable Windows Defender Program

You may also try to permanently disable Windows Defender program which may also solve the issue.

To disable Windows Defender in Windows 10, you’ll need to follow a few steps given in following tutorial:

[Windows Tip] How to Disable Windows Defender Permanently

SOLUTION 5: Disable Windows Defender Security Center App

If you still receive the error message, you may also try to completely disable the new Windows Defender Security Center app.

Following tutorial will help you in disabling Windows Defender Security Center app in Windows 10:

[Tip] Disable or Remove “Windows Defender Security Center” App in Windows 10

SOLUTION 6: Change Windows 10 Edition Installed in Your Computer

It might also be possible that somehow the installed edition of Windows 10 in your computer got changed into Windows 10 S edition which comes with this limitation by default. Or may be you or someone else installed Windows 10 S edition by mistake in your computer.

If that’s the case, you’ll need to change the Windows 10 S edition installed in your computer to Windows 10 Home (also known as Core) or Windows 10 Pro to fix this problem.

If you got any recovery disc with your computer, you can use the disc to restore your computer to factory settings which will restore the installed Windows edition. Remember it’ll erase all custom installed software, personal data, etc from your computer. So take a backup of important data first before using recovery disc.

If you didn’t get any recovery disc, your computer might contain a recovery partition containing all required files to restore your computer to factory settings. Power on your computer and you should get an option or key mentioned on BIOS splash screen to restore your computer to factory settings.

If you can’t restore your computer to factory settings, you’ll need to manually change Windows 10 edition in your computer. First of all you’ll need to retrieve the original product key/license key of the genuine Windows 10 edition which came preinstalled in your PC. If you don’t know your machine product key, you can take help of various 3rd party software such as ProduKey to retrieve the product key from your computer.

Freeware to Recover Windows and Microsoft Office Product Keys

Once you get and note down the original product key, change the current product key in your Windows 10 machine to the retrieved product key using following steps:

1. Open Start Menu and click on Settings option. It’ll open Settings app. Alternatively, you can direct open Settings app using WIN+I hotkey.

2. Now click on “Update & Security” icon and in left-side pane, click on “Activation” section.

PS: Alternatively, You can directly launch the “Activation” page using “ms-settings:activation” command in RUN dialog box as mentioned here.

3. Now click on “Change product key” link, paste the original product key and follow the instructions.

It’ll take some minutes and should restore the default Windows 10 edition in your computer which should fix the problem.

PS: If you can’t access Settings app, you can use slmgr.vbs /ipk original_product_key command in RUN dialog box to change product key in your computer.

SOLUTION 7: Reinstall Correct Edition of Windows 10

If nothing works, then reinstalling the correct Windows 10 edition is the best solution for you. Write down the original product key which you retrieved in previous solution and download Windows 10 setup ISO file officially from Microsoft website.

Following articles will help you in downloading Windows 10 ISO files from Microsoft website:

[Tip] Get Direct Download Links of Windows 10 Offline ISO Files from Microsoft

Download Latest Windows 10 Setup ISO for Clean Install or Upgrade

After downloading the ISO file, create a bootable USB device to install Windows 10 in your computer.

How to Create Bootable USB Drive of Windows Setup without Using Any Software?

Boot using USB drive and install Windows 10 in your computer. When asked, enter the original product key and the setup will install a fresh copy of Windows 10 in your computer.

That’s all. Above mentioned methods should help you in fixing this irritating issue in Windows 10. If you know about any other method which helped you in fixing this issue, feel free to share it in your comment.

Also Check:

[Fix] Some Settings are Managed by Your Organization in Windows 10

[Fix] Your Browser is Managed by Your Organization in Google Chrome

[Fix] Your Organization has Disabled the Ability to Change Some Options in Mozilla Firefox