How to block a program from running in Windows 7

Posted Date: 26-Aug-2010		Category: Microsoft Windows
Author: D.Jeya Kumar(JK)	Member Level: Diamond
Rating:	Points: 11 (Rs 6)

This article explains how to block a program or software from executing in Windows 7 by creating Windows registry key to block the program using Windows registry

How to block a program from running in Windows 7

Windows operating system is flexible enough to set the permissions and blocking the program or software from running in Windows 7. Administrator may want to block certain programs or software that may harm the computer in a network environment.

Blocking a software or program in Windows 7 requires no 3rd party software. Certain software like a torrent files which may download a virus or spyware or some unwanted program to the computer. If the computer is in an organization
network then it may spread across the entire network.

Windows 7 will block the program for even the reinstallation of the application. In order to block the program you require administrator permission. To block the program from running you need to modify the settings in Windows Registry.

Open the Windows Registry by pressing Windows key + R to open the Run prompt and then type Regedit and hit the enter key. Once the Windows registry is opened then navigate to the below path by expanding HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer and select Explorer and right click the mouse on the right hand side of the window and create a new DWORD and name it is as DisallowRun, double click the DWORD and enter 1 as its value.

Now select Explorer key and right click on the Explorer and click New, select Key to create a new key inside Explorer and name the key as same as the executable name so that it can be identified easily.

Registry Edit

Once the Key is created inside the Explorer, click the new key and go inside the key and right click on the right side of the Window, select new String and name it as "Block Snagit" and value as snagit32.exe to block the snagit32.exe from running in system. For testing purpose I used snagit32.exe you can block any executable.

Regedit key blocking

Close the Regedit, other applications in the system then restart the system and execute the snagit32.exe it will pop up a message this operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your administrator (Check the below screenshot).

How to prevent running program

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