Last updated on July 6th, 2020
If you receive the error “Controlled Folder Access blocks program from making changes to memory” in Windows Defender antivirus, continue below to fix the problem. The ‘Controlled Folder Access’ feature, is an advanced protection measure in Windows 10’s Defender Antivirus, that blocks any unauthorized application to make changes to files and folders.
By default, the ‘Controlled Folder Access’ security feature, blocks any unknown app that tries to modify files on your computer, but sometimes may block legitimate programs from running.
In this tutorial, you ‘ll find detailed instructions to solve the error “Controlled Folder Access blocks ‘application.exe’ from making changes to memory”, in Windows Defender Antivirus.
How to Unblock Legitimate programs in Defender Antivirus on Windows 10.
Step 1. Scan for Viruses/Malware.
Before you continue to troubleshoot the “Controlled Folder Access blocks ‘program.exe’ from making changes to memory” problem, proceed and ensure that your computer is clean from viruses or/and malicious programs, by using the instructions in this Malware Scan and Removal Guide.
Step 2. Check if the Blocked Application is Legitimate or NOT.
1. At the ‘Controlled Folder Access’ error, notice the name of the blocked .exe (program).
2. Then open your favorite Internet browser and search the name of the blocked program.
3. From the search results, find out if the blocked .exe (program), belongs to the Windows Operating System or if it belongs to a legitimate application that you have installed on your computer.
4. Now, according the results, apply the corresponding action:
- Case A. If you find that the blocked program is malicious, or if it belongs to a third-party application that you haven’t installed or you don’t need, then remove the malicious program or uninstall the application from your computer.
- Case B. If you find that the blocked program is legitimate, then proceed to unblock it, by following the instructions below:
a. At Windows Defender Security settings, open the Virus & threat protection.
b. Scroll down and click Manage ransomware protection.
c. Select Allow an app through Controlled folder access. *
* Note: If you want, in this screen, you can turn off the “Controlled folder access” protection, by dragging the corresponding switch to OFF, but is not recommended.
d. Click Add an allowed app and then select Recently blocked app.
e. Finally, select the app (the .exe file), that you want to exclude from the “Controlled folder access’ protection and click OK.
That’s it! Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.
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