By default, Google Chrome blocks any downloads by scanning them beforehand that may be harmful to your computer or has malicious behavior. However, in certain cases, you need to download files that are perfectly safe to install, but Chrome blocks them as well. At the moment, there is no way to keep or save the files. If you have experienced such a problem, then you must have certainly come across one of the following prompts by Chrome: In such cases, Chrome doesn’t allow you to perform any other action on the file except discard them. However, there is a workaround. In this post, we are going to show you how to prevent Google Chrome from blocking your downloads. But before we do that, let us see what Chrome blocks a download in the first place.
Why Google Chrome Blocks Downloads
Chrome might block a download for any one of the following reasons:
You tried to download malware or the file you tried to download contains malware.The item you downloaded may make unwanted changes to your computer.The downloaded content will leak your private data.You downloaded a potentially dangerous piece of software.The downloaded item will make changes to the browser or add unwanted extensions or toolbars.
As you can understand from the reasons for blocking a download, Chrome tries to protect your data and your computer through this mechanism. In certain cases, some third-party software is also blocked, but you need to download them anyway. In that case, you can allow Chrome to perform the downloads anyway.
How to Unblock Downloads in Google Chrome
Previously, Google Chrome prompted its users with the following: With this statement, the user was given the option to keep or discard the file. However, that is not the case anymore. Chrome just blocks the download and gives no option to keep it. That being said, you can perform the following steps to allow a download to be installed, even though Chrome is attempting to block it: Note: These steps need to be performed before initiating the download. If you have already attempted to download an item and Chrome has blocked it, you will need to download it again after performing these steps. That’s it! Chrome will now no longer block any future downloads. You may now continue to download the item that was earlier blocked by the browser. We do suggest that you re-enable Safe Browsing in Chrome once you have successfully downloaded the content. This is to reinstate Chrome’s security protocols which will prevent potential threats from being downloaded in the future. Thus, you can either select “Standard protection,” which is Chrome’s default setting, or “Enhanced protection” for extra security. Moreover, even after a file is downloaded and allowed through Chrome, the Windows operating system can still block you from executing it and prevent the file from making any changes. In which case, it needs to be manually unblocked.
How to Unblock a File
A downloaded file from the internet or even a file that has been copied from another computer/USB drive onto your PC can be blocked by Windows. Therefore, you must manually unblock it to execute it. Here is how: This should be done with every file that Chrome was initially blocking, but you downloaded it anyway. Again, we only recommend this for the content that you trust and doesn’t contain any viruses.
Closing Words
The default blocking of downloads in Google Chrome is for your safety. However, if the software has already been tried-and-tested, it can be assumed that it is safe for use. But in some cases, Chrome can still block it. For example, we often write about tools developed by experts available on GitHub, but those are not licensed or signed by an authentic manufacturer. In that case, we manually allow Chrome to keep those downloads. Once they are downloaded, we revert Chrome’s settings to its default.
