Issues having my program whitelisted from Microsoft Defender Smartscreen

David Hranicky 0 Reputation points
2026-10-29T16:51:34.3333333+00:00

Microsoft Defender Smartscreen has recently started flagging the most recent version of my company's software as unrecognized, saying it isn't commonly downloaded. I have looked into various ways to have our software whilelisted from this warning but I am running into trouble.

When downloading our software in Microsoft Edge, there is a link provided to report the file as safe (https://feedback.smartscreen.microsoft.com/feedback.aspx). I have filed a report here twice, and both times I have not received a confirmation email so I am unsure if it is being reported properly.

I also found a link to this previous question (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/4101294/whitelist-my-program-for-windows-os-smartscreen-tr) asking for help with this process, and they were led to Microsoft's malware analysis portal (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/filesubmission). When trying to submit our software however, I keep receiving a generic error indicating to try again. There is no guidance on what the problem with my submission is, and I have tried submitting on Firefox, Edge, and Chrome browsers.

Is there another way we can proceed with having our software no longer flagged by Smartscreen?

Microsoft Security | Microsoft Defender | Other
0 comments

1 answer

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest

  1. AI answer

    2026-10-29T16:51:57.4366667+00:00

    Use these supported paths:

    1. Submit the file to Microsoft for review at the Microsoft file submission portal.
      • If the file is being incorrectly flagged, submit it for analysis as a false positive.
      • For Microsoft Defender SmartScreen submissions, select Microsoft Defender SmartScreen from the product menu.
    2. Report the file as safe from Microsoft Edge.
      • SmartScreen warnings in Edge allow reporting a site or file as safe.
      • If the in-browser report this file as safe flow is not working, a documented Microsoft Q&A workaround is to use Edge Canary or Edge Dev to submit the report.
    3. Understand the warning type.
      • SmartScreen can warn for files that are unknown, not only files known to be malicious.
      • An “isn’t commonly downloaded” warning matches the documented unknown reputation case.
      • SmartScreen file reputation is based on factors such as download traffic, download history, past antivirus results, and URL reputation.
    4. If the file submission portal returns a generic error, the supported guidance in the available material is still to use the submission portal and the Edge reporting path. No alternate Microsoft whitelisting channel is described in the provided material.
    5. If the issue is with a website rather than only the file, report the site from Edge:
      • Open the site in Edge.
      • Select Settings and more > Help and feedback > Report unsafe website if SmartScreen missed a bad site.
      • From a warning page, select More information > Report that this site doesn't contain threats if a safe site is blocked.

    There is no documented manual “whitelist” process in the provided material. The supported remediation is submission for review and reporting through Edge.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

    Was this answer helpful?

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.