When opening a file or running a file in Windows, you will often be greeted with a security warning prompt which mentions that the contents of the file could potentially harm your computer. This could be because the file was downloaded from the internet; it may not be properly signed by the developer; or an application of an unknown type is being run (it even displays this warning for software published by Microsoft!)

While this is a nice reminder to have for files from unfamiliar sources, it can be rather irritating for files from developers that you know and trust. Luckily, disabling this warning for individual files is a very simple process:

•  Navigate to the folder where the file is contained. Right click on the file and select ‘Properties’.

• At the bottom of the Properties window, there is a button labelled ‘Unblock’. Click this button and then click ‘Apply’.

The next time you open the file, the security warning should no longer appear. A word of warning though – even if the software is from a trusted source, it is still recommended that you have adequate protections in place, such as anti-virus, to make sure that an infected file cannot harm you computer.