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Windows warnings

Last updated 23 September 2026

In short

VRX3D is new and, up to v1.7.9, its programs are not digitally signed. Windows is cautious about programs like that, so you may see a warning when you download or install it. That warning does not mean Windows found anything harmful. If you downloaded VRX3D from its GitHub release page, you can check the file is genuine (below) and carry on.

Signed releases are being set up: see the code signing policy.

"Windows protected your PC" (SmartScreen)

When you run the installer, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen may show a blue window:

Windows protected your PC
Microsoft Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting.

SmartScreen warns about programs that few people have downloaded yet. It builds up trust in a program as more people use it, and a digital signature helps it do so; a new, unsigned program has neither.

  1. Check the download is genuine (below).
  2. Click More info.
  3. Click Run anyway.

The same can happen the first time you start VRX.Desktop.exe from the portable ZIP.

Warnings while downloading

Your browser may say the file "isn't commonly downloaded". In Microsoft Edge, open the download's ... menu and choose Keep (if asked, Show more and then Keep anyway); other browsers have a similar Keep option. This is the same kind of warning: it is about how new the file is, not what is in it.

"An Application Control policy has blocked this file" (Smart App Control)

Smart App Control is stricter than SmartScreen. It is on in some new installs of Windows 11, and it blocks unsigned programs it does not recognise outright, with no "Run anyway". It can stop VRX3D's 3D engine (engine\xrplayer.exe) when you press Attach / Play. From v1.7.7, VRX3D explains this in its own window when it happens.

The real fix is a signed VRX3D, which is on the way. Until then, the only way to run it on that PC is to turn Smart App Control off, in Windows Security > App & browser control > Smart App Control settings. That is your decision: Windows may not let you turn it back on without resetting the PC. On a work or school PC, ask its administrator.

Check your download is genuine

Every release on GitHub includes SHA256SUMS.txt, with a fingerprint of each file. In PowerShell, in the folder you downloaded to:

Get-FileHash .\VRX-Setup-1.7.9.exe

The long number it prints must match the line for that file in SHA256SUMS.txt. If it does not, delete the file and download it again from GitHub.

Only download VRX3D from its GitHub releases (linked from this site). Please don't turn off Windows security features just to install it.

Why trust it at all?

VRX3D is open source: the complete source code is public, it makes no network connections and collects no data (see the privacy policy), and the other components it ships, from Microsoft and Valve, keep their publishers' own signatures.