Microsoft to Block Non-Windows Store Apps in Win10?

Updated:05:21 PM CEST Aug,30

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Gameguru Mania News - Feb,27 2017 -

Microsoft to Block Non-Windows Store Apps in Win10? - tech
(hx) 09:33 PM CET - Feb,27 2017 - Post a comment / read (13)
Could windows 10 be going on full device-style lockdown, requiring you to use apps from the Windows Store? Beta News reports, this is only an option which can be enabled should you so desire, and while it is in the current preview version of the Creators Update coming this year, there is no indication if it will be in the final version or any future version at all. Before you jump into this, there is something you need to keep in mind. At the moment, this option is only available in build 15042 of Windows 10 (also known as Creators Update); it may well remain in future builds, but it's not guaranteed, and there's no way to backport the option to pre-15042 builds.

With that in mind, follow these steps:

    1.Open up Settings and head to Apps.
    2.In the Apps & features section click the drop down menu beneath the Installing apps heading.
    3.Select the option labeled Allow apps from the Store only.
    4.Close Settings.

That's all there is to it. You can also opt to display a warning about non-Store apps if a user tries to install a classic Win32 app (but the installation will not be blocked) -- just select the Prefer apps from the Store, but allow apps from anywhere option.
While the concept of a locked down Windows where you, the user, do not have the freedom to install the software of your choice does sound like a grim dystopian future, and it may actually happen on the future Cloud version of the operating system, Microsoft's alternative to ChromeOS, it is also not without its merits.

last 10 comments:

Tom	(09:51 PM CET - Feb,27 2017 )
No different than Android.

Csimbi	(10:01 PM CET - Feb,27 2017 )
There you go. Another nail in the coffin.

heretic	(10:05 PM CET - Feb,27 2017 )
There's no way Microsoft implements this as anything more than an option for the foreseeable future. Yes they are pushing the Windows Store. Yes they will continue to push UWP apps. And yes we may eventually end up at a point where all of your software comes from the Windows Store. However that won't happen for an age and chances are there will be ways around it.

Kompressor	(04:34 AM CET - Feb,28 2017 )
I never use store apps. Why use an app when you can just install software the old fashioned way? This is a computer, not a phone.

Csimbi	(11:36 AM CET - Feb,28 2017 )
I think that it's actually for managed PCs so IT admins can lock it down. Not for home PCs.

Tom

(02:36 PM CET - Feb,28 2017 )

Csimbi> There you go.
Another nail in the coffin.

In your coffin? Good. Nasty smell coming from your coffin.

Honestly don't care, it's a non-story. Just like Google app store there is a lot of shit in the store. Fake apps, viruses. Just another story for the haters to hate some more.

Apple does the same.. so this is nothing but a haters news story.

quote:
If the setting sounds familiar, it is because Apple has a virtually identical set of controls for OS X. The Mac "Gatekeeper" mechanism allows users to limit the installation of new apps to only what is available on the Mac App Store, rather than any app with a valid developer certificate. (Gatekeeper is far from perfect.)

TENGILL	(06:38 PM CET - Feb,28 2017 )
So about this thing the kids are using, Linux was it? O and one more thing, there is a Microsoft App Store?

Tom	(10:15 PM CET - Feb,28 2017 )
TENGILL> So about this thing the kids are using, Linux was it? O and one more thing, there is a Microsoft App Store? Linux as a business OS no prob. As a gaming platform. Dream on. And for the record, kids aren't using Linux. It's too hard for them because they're all lazy, a gameboy, android or console will suffice.

lorcro2000

(09:29 AM CET - Mar,01 2017 )

This would mean that both Steam and Origin would no longer work, to put this in perspective. I'm sure Microsoft would love to publish all the games and make even more of the money, but there's no realistic chance this will happen anytime soon.

Even Microsoft can go too far. If all the gaming studios stop making Windows games, the home market for Windows is going to get savaged. I for one run Windows 100% because I game at home. If I didn't, I'd already be on Linux.

Tom

(02:38 PM CET - Mar,01 2017 )

Tom

(02:38 PM CET - Mar,01 2017 )

lorcro2000> This would mean that both Steam and Origin would no longer work, to put this in perspective. I'm sure Microsoft would love to publish all the games and make even more of the money, but there's no realistic chance this will happen anytime soon.

Even Microsoft can go too far. If all the gaming studios stop making Windows games, the home market for Windows is going to get savaged. I for one run Windows 100% because I game at home. If I didn't, I'd already be on Linux.

Are you on acid?

quote:
The feature, noticed by Twitter user @vitorgrs (below) is disabled by default, so it won't bother you unless you search for it and turn it on. It might be incredibly annoying to power users, as it would block Photoshop, Firefox and other desktop apps. it could be a boon for your parents or grandparents, though, as it'll stop them from accidentally installing bloatware or other problematic apps.

Microsoft already blocks unknown Windows 10 software from being installed with a message that "the publisher could not be verified." However, it's relatively easy for bad actors to get around that and users can just bypass the error message.

Csimbi

(11:59 AM CET - Mar,02 2017 )

I remember when installation was not required to run programs.
All you had to do was unzip, run a config tool and you were good to go.
The only thing that should require installation is you OS.
All this installation nonsense was introduced by Microsoft to "cater for the needs of the end users and the industry".
To this day, IT pros can manage very well (if not better) without these installers.
Steam does not use installers; they download compressed data, unpack it and they run the game's config tool - same as in the good old days.
Portable apps have been around for quite a while and they work perfectly as well.
I guess installation-free distribution mechanisms will make an even bigger comeback one of these Microsoft-fuckup-days.

I think kids - well, the techsavvy ones - will haul their entire environment around on USB sticks (that is, OS, apps, games, mails, bookmarks, saved games and just about everything), plug into the nearest PC and boot from that and work/game.
That way, parents would never find anything on their PCs and think that their kids are okay.
My programs don't run? No probs, dad, I boot from my stick.
BIOS password? Let me just reset the CMOS real quick.
There, all the tools Microsoft, mom/dad or your company IT invested in, circumvented in one fell swoop.
You know what I found to be the best way to make the kids do their homework? Disable Wi-Fi and unplug their patch cable from the router. Works like a charm.

Anyway, taking that "my environment travels with me" idea a step forward.
If Microsoft were smart and less greedy (which they aren't), they'd allow Windows 10 phones to be plugged into PCs and boot the phone OS on the PC hardware.
If it were all Windows 10 as they claimed, all my stuff would travel with me and I could work/play more or less anytime/anywhere.
Heck, they could even use the phone's processor for CPU/GPU offloading.
(But we know that it's not going to work because the phone W10 is not the same as the PC W10; that's only the marketing piece. Plus, MS is not smart enough. And then, there's their greed - which really is the biggest problem.)

Tom

(03:30 PM CET - Mar,02 2017 )

I agree with a good amount of what you say. It would be nice not to have installers and that Windows was more 'modular' in that you can easily enable games rather than install them and add lots of BS to a "registry". If you could just go delete BF1 directory and the game was gone, that would be great. You could literally swap drives with your batch of games on it. Sadly, you can't even do this on linux.

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