Windows warned you. Here is what it means.

“Windows protected your PC”

This screen is Microsoft Defender SmartScreen. Under the heading it says it “prevented an unrecognized app from starting”, and after More info it names the publisher as “Unknown publisher”. It appears when you open a file downloaded from the internet that is not digitally signed and that Windows has not yet seen run on many PCs.

It is a caution about a file Windows does not know yet, not a report of something found inside it - and it is Windows doing its job: it cannot tell who made an unsigned file, so it asks you before running it.

Why it appears for this app

The installer, the portable ZIP and the winget package of STREAMS Player are not code-signed. A code-signing certificate costs hundreds of dollars a year, and for a free app with no income we chose not to buy one for now. That is a decision, not an oversight - and for an unsigned file, a warning is exactly what Windows should show.

SmartScreen also weighs reputation: the more people run the same file without trouble, the sooner Windows recognizes it and the warning stops. Every release is a new file that starts from zero, which is why the warning can come back after an update and why it fades as a release is used.

The Microsoft Store version is signed by Microsoft and does not show this screen. Every GitHub release also publishes a .sha256 file beside each download: run Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 <file> in PowerShell on the file you downloaded, and the result should match the value in that file.

What to click

On the “Windows protected your PC” screen:

1. Click More info, under the message.
2. Check that the file name is the STREAMS Player file you downloaded, then click Run anyway.

That is all - the installer, or the app from the ZIP, starts normally. You never need to switch SmartScreen off or disable your antivirus, and the app itself never needs administrator rights.

“Do you want to allow this app from an unknown publisher to make changes to your device?”

You should not normally see this prompt. By default the installer installs for you alone, into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\StreamsPlayer, and needs no administrator rights for that. If it asks how to install, choose Install for me only (recommended).

Windows shows this prompt only if you choose Install for all users. The installer then uses administrator rights for exactly three things:

• copying the program into the Program Files folder, so every account on this PC can run it;
• adding STREAMS Player to the Start menu of every account, and to the shared desktop if you ticked that option;
• registering it with Windows as an installed app, so it can be removed later.

One action removes all three together: Settings > Apps > Installed apps (Apps & features on Windows 10) > STREAMS Player > Uninstall. If you would rather not give administrator rights, click No and run the installer again with Install for me only.

If your antivirus holds the file back

Some antivirus programs are cautious with new, unsigned files. If yours quarantines STREAMS Player, restore it and add an exception for its folder only - %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\StreamsPlayer for the installer, or the folder you unpacked the ZIP into. An exception for that one folder is all it takes, and you can remove it at any time; do not turn your antivirus off.

What STREAMS Player never does

• It never needs administrator rights to install or run, never adds itself to Windows startup, and installs no background service.
• No account is required for ordinary playback. The optional exchange account belongs to your own server. There is no advertising, analytics, telemetry or service operated by the author.
• It connects only when you act, and only to what that action needs: the public stream catalog and its optional preview pack on GitHub, the provider of a stream you play, record or preview, a FastMediaSorter phone or watch on your own network, and the optional FFmpeg libraries if you ask for them in Settings. A TV schedule is fetched only from an address you enter yourself, and only when you press Download schedule.
• It never downloads the catalog on its own - a refresh happens only when you ask for it.
• It never sends your data or logs anywhere by itself. Send logs to the author on the About page in Settings only prepares an archive and a message in your own mail program; nothing leaves until you press Send there.
• Uninstalling it never deletes your channels, pins or history - they stay in %LOCALAPPDATA%\StreamsPlayer until you remove that folder yourself.