Store Apps: everybody, simmer down. Windows 10 is not blocking any app unless you want it to.
User Account Control (UAC), is a feature that was first introduced in Windows 7, as a method to prevent unauthorized programs from running and possibly wrecking havoc through the system.
Its induction into the Windows experience was received with mixed feelings. On one hand, Microsoft received praises to introduce a way to block potentially dangerous programs from interfering with normal operations. On the other hand, getting a pop-up window whenever a new program is run or installed, including those who are legitimate, felt like an annoying chore.
Microsoft has improved upon UAC quite a bit, to a point where users can safely customize the kind of experience they want, without sacrificing security.
In Windows 10, UAC has evolved to provide feedback only when programs attempt to run with administrative privileges, however, one thing that Apple has taken a step further in Mac OS X, was to prevent third party from being installed altogether, via a Mac applications called Gatekeeper, which catches any program that is not digitally signed, and prevents it from installing or running.
Such feature is not present in Windows 10 yet, but Microsoft has began work on a beta feature that gives users the choice to allow only Store apps to run.
The feature comes with the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15042, and is off by default. When activated it can be set to prompt an option dialog warning about applications that do not originate from the Windows Store, and either block third-party desktop apps, or provide a warning message.
To those who may be wondering, Microsoft isn’t planning to block third party apps in the future, or ever, even if similar paranoid notions have been advanced already, much like previous rumors suggesting that Microsoft would be charging a monthly fee to use Windows 10. Once again: neither are happening.
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