Smartscreen filter

Discussion in 'other anti-malware software' started by pabrate, May 31, 2014.

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  1. pabrate

    pabrate Registered Member

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    Windows 8.1 update 1

    Is there a way to test if SmartScreen filter is working ?
    I have it enabled, both in Action Center and in IE11, Windows Defender is enabled.
    I tried numerous files/links in IE11 and I'm pretty sure it should have acted with its own message, but it didn't.
    Windows Defender reacts though with its message in the top right corner.
     
  2. MrBrian

    MrBrian Registered Member

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  3. pabrate

    pabrate Registered Member

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    Only 1 and 2 worked (Eicar test files) , but like I said, Windows Defender is working, SmartScreen filter isn't.
    Like in this youtube video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMYa2nXkBSs
    You can forward to 05:10, you can see the message at the bottom "Server.exe is unsafe to download and was blocked by SmartScreen filter"
    I even tried those same links from that video plus many more.
     
  4. MrBrian

    MrBrian Registered Member

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    Did you try test #4?
     
  5. pabrate

    pabrate Registered Member

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    Yeah I tried all 5 tests.
    Windows Defender reacted on tests #1 and #2
     
  6. MrBrian

    MrBrian Registered Member

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  7. pabrate

    pabrate Registered Member

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    Yeah of course I did, that's why I'm asking what could be the problem, everything is enabled but it's acting like it's disabled.
    I tried reseting the IE settings, IE did its thing, it asked for reboot, I rebooted and it was the same, sfc /scannow is reporting no problems.
    I don't know if uninstalling IE from Programs & Features and then installing it again would help. Have no clue what else I could try.
     
  8. MrBrian

    MrBrian Registered Member

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    Do you have a different browser such as Firefox or Chrome that you could try the above tests in (to see if it's related to Internet Explorer or not)?
     
  9. pabrate

    pabrate Registered Member

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    Yes I have, same results.
     
  10. MrBrian

    MrBrian Registered Member

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    SmartScreen in IE 11 on Windows 7 blocks the download from test #2. Maybe somebody can verify that it does the same in Windows 8 or 8.1.
     
  11. pabrate

    pabrate Registered Member

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    Thank you for your inputs sir, it used to work for me too but for some unkown reason it's not working anymore.
     
  12. MrBrian

    MrBrian Registered Member

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  13. pabrate

    pabrate Registered Member

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    Yes, funny thing happens, for example this one : http://ad.malvertising.info/
    Nothing happens when I visit that site, but when I go to Safety->Check this website it reports that it's unsafe.
     
  14. MrBrian

    MrBrian Registered Member

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    If you do this search at Google, you will get more threads to search:
    smartscreen not working site:microsoft.com
     
  15. pabrate

    pabrate Registered Member

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    Yeah, usually people complain how it detects legit sites, but nothing like I described, at least I couldn't find it :)

    btw when you check that site from my previous post in your IE, does smartscreen filter automatically detects it ?
    Don't worry, there's no malware on that site, just the picture, something like Eicar test.
     
  16. MrBrian

    MrBrian Registered Member

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    You mean at 5:10 in the youtube video?
     
  17. pabrate

    pabrate Registered Member

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  18. MrBrian

    MrBrian Registered Member

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    IE 11 on Windows 7 blocks that site.
     
  19. pabrate

    pabrate Registered Member

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    Ok, thanks.
    Well I don't know, something is wrong in my case, but apart from that everything else is working fine on my system, I just can't figure out why SmartScreen filter stopped working.
    It's relatively fresh install, no problems, no viruses, no third party security apps of any kind, they were not even ever installed and then removed.
    Hm, bizarre ...
     
  20. siljaline

    siljaline Registered Member

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    The caveat of using SmartScreen Filter is that it checks sites you visit and files you download for threats to your security !
     
  21. Minimalist

    Minimalist Registered Member

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    I tested it on Windows 8.1.1 with IE and it blocks it for me also. If I disable SmartScreen the site is not blocked, when SS enabled it gets blocked.
    @pabrate do you have any third party software installed that could interfere with SmartScreen?
     
  22. pabrate

    pabrate Registered Member

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    I have a few, like email client, torrent, Steam, nothing special.
    I don't see how they would possibly interfere with SmartScreen, besides issue is still there when those apps are not running.

    I guess the problem is something in the IE, SmartScreen works when I manually check the site, it just doesn't work automatically for some reason.
    I'll try to uninstall IE and then install it again, there's nothing else I could think of to do.
     
  23. pabrate

    pabrate Registered Member

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    I'm afraid that it's not the problem in the IE but in the SmartScreen in general.
    I disabled WinDefender and downloaded eicar.com test file, I was able to download it, then I enabled WinDefender and tried to run eicar.com
    WindowsDefender detected it and blocked it with a message, but I think SmartScreen was supposed to throw a message, like this :
    http://cdn.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/image47.png
     
  24. itman

    itman Registered Member

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    http://ad.malvertising.info/

    SmartScreen filter blocks that site on my WIN 7 x64 SP1 PC using IE10 x64. Might be an issue when Windows Defender is active. WD on my PC is turned off.
     
  25. pabrate

    pabrate Registered Member

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    In the meantime I installed OS again, formatted the partition where previous one was installed and setup new one there.
    Right away I tested it and it failed like before, though I've noticed IE had previous history and bookmarks.
    Must have pulled all that from the cloud, because I've used MS account to login, didn't know that it stores IE info too.
    Anyway, it must have stored some settings as well.
    I made new account, local one and it still doesn't work under that new account.
    I guess whatever setting is in question it's affecting all users.
    The only way I can think of is to install the OS again but use the local account, or with new MS account.
     
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