3 Quick Ways to Enable or Disable Controlled Folder Access on Windows 11

Controlled folder access is an amazing security feature that prevents untrusted applications from making changes to your important files and folders. It protects your data by checking apps against a list of friendly, trusted apps. However, this feature is disabled by default on Windows 11.

If you install some third-party applications, Controlled Folder Access is one of the features that must be enabled on your computer. So let’s see 3 quick ways to enable or disable Controlled Folder Access on Windows 11.

1. Enable or Disable Windows Security Controlled Folder Access

Windows Security is a built-in security application that protects your computer and data from malware and hackers. It provides real-time protection, account protection, network protection, etc.

You can also use Windows Security to enable or disable Controlled folder access on your computer. This is the way:

Step 1: Press the Windows key to open the Start Menu.

Step 2: Enter Windows Security in the search bar and click the Open option in the right pane.

Step 3: On the Windows Security home page, click the Virus and threat protection option in the left sidebar.

Step 4: Click Manage settings under ‘Virus and threat protection settings’.

Step 5: Scroll down and click Manage Controlled Folder Access under Controlled Folder Access.

Step 6: To enable, turn on the switch under Controlled Folder Access.

If you want to disable Controlled folder access, disable the toggle.

2. Enable or disable controlled folder access using Local Group Policy Editor

Local Group Policy Editor is an important utility for configuring Windows policies. It allows you to control application behavior, manage power options, etc. Local Group Policy Editor is only available for Windows 11 Enterprise and Pro editions. If you are using Windows 11 Home edition, check out our guide on how to access the Local Group Policy Editor on Windows Home.

The local group policy editor is also one of the places to configure controlled folder permissions. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Press Windows key + R to open the Run tool.

Step 2: Enter gpedit.msc and click OK.

Step 3: In the Local Group Policy Editor, click on Computer Configuration from the left sidebar and select Administrative Templates below.

Step 4: Click the arrow next to Windows Components to access its context menu.

Step 5: Next, select Microsoft Defender Antivirus.

Step 6: Click the arrow next to ‘Microsoft Defender Exploit Guard’ to access its context menu.

Step 7: Double-click ‘Controlled folder access’.

Step 8: Right click on ‘Configure controlled folder access’ and select Edit from the context menu.

Step 9: Select Enabled in the properties window.

Step 10: Click the drop-down icon under ‘Configure my folder protection’ and select Block.

Step 11: Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

To disable Controlled folder access, select Disabled in the Configuration Controlled Folder Access Policy Properties window and save the changes.

3. Enable or Disable Controlled Folder Access Using Windows PowerShell

Windows PowerShell is one of many command line tools available for Windows. You can quickly enable or disable Controlled folder access by executing a simple command in Windows PowerShell.

Here’s how to enable Controlled folder access using Windows PowerShell:

Step 1: Press the Windows key to open the Start Menu.

Step 2: Enter Windows PowerShell and select ‘Run as administrator’ from the right pane.

Step 3: In the elevated PowerShell window, type the following command and press Enter.

Enabled Set-MpPreference -EnableControlledFolderAccess

In the future, if you want to disable Controlled folder access, open Windows PowerShell with administrator privileges, type the following command and press Enter.

Disabled Set-MpPreference -EnableControlledFolderAccess

How to add or remove apps through control folder permissions

Controlled folder access is an amazing feature, but it can block even secure apps. Windows has a list of ‘friendly applications’ that have Controlled folder access automatically allowing them to run and perform tasks anywhere. However, this list is limited and can sometimes even block trusted apps.

For example, PhotoScape X is a photo editing application and is available on the Microsoft Store. Surprisingly, it is blocked in the controlled folder access settings. To work around this situation, you can use the add or remove option of Controlled Folder Access.

The Add option allows you to add an app to the friendly apps list. Conversely, you can use the Remove option to remove apps that you think may be harmful to your computer.

Here’s how to add apps to the Controlled folder access list:

Step 1: Press the Windows key to open the Start Menu.

Step 2: Enter Windows Security in the search bar and click the Open option in the right pane.

Step 3: On the Windows Security home page, click the Virus and threat protection option in the left sidebar.

Step 4: Click ‘Allow apps through Controlled folder access.’

Step 5: Click the Add Allowed Apps button and select Browse All Apps.

Step 6: Select the executable file of the application you want to add and click Open.

Windows will add the selected application to the exception list.

To remove an app from the exceptions list, click its name and select the Remove option.

Protect your files and folders

With ransomware attacks on the rise in recent years, it’s important to have a feature to protect your files and folders. Controlled folder access is a Windows feature that helps protect your data from unauthorized access. You can quickly enable or disable Controlled folder access on Windows by following the methods above.

Categories: How to
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