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Getting started

“Windows protected your PC”: what it means and what to click

The first time you open the VoiceKeyboard installer, Windows may show a blue window with only a “Don't run” button. It appears because the program is new and not yet signed. Two clicks get past it: “More info”, then “Run anyway”.

Why Windows shows this window

The window comes from Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, a part of Windows. Before a program downloaded from the internet starts for the first time, SmartScreen checks how well Microsoft knows that file and its publisher. Files that many people have already downloaded and run, or that carry a digital signature with a good record, start without a question. A file it has not seen often enough gets this blue window. The window itself calls it an “unrecognized app”: SmartScreen does not know the file yet. It is not a report that something was found in it.

VoiceKeyboard is a new program from Grin Studio OÜ, a company in Estonia, and its installer is not digitally signed yet. Signing is planned. Until then the window shows “Unknown publisher” on its second screen.

What to click

  1. Click More info. It is the underlined text under the message, not a button.
Illustration of the blue window “Windows protected your PC”: the message that Microsoft Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting, the underlined link More info circled in amber with the number 1, and a single Don't run button at the bottom right.
What the window looks like when it opens (an illustration). Step 1: “More info”.
  1. Two lines appear: App: GrinStudio.VoiceKeyboard-win-Setup.exe and Publisher: Unknown publisher. Check that the name is this one, then click Run anyway.
Illustration of the same window after More info: App GrinStudio.VoiceKeyboard-win-Setup.exe, Publisher Unknown publisher, and two buttons at the bottom, Run anyway circled in amber with the number 2, and Don't run.
After “More info” (an illustration). Step 2: “Run anyway”.
  1. The installer starts. It installs VoiceKeyboard for your Windows account only, so it does not ask for administrator rights. It puts shortcuts on the desktop and in the Start menu and opens the program.

“Don't run” closes the window and nothing is installed. The installer stays in your Downloads folder, so you can open it again later.

If the browser warns before the download finishes

Edge and Chrome check downloads too, and for a new file they can say it “isn't commonly downloaded”. The file then waits in the browser's download list. In Edge, point at the download, click the three dots and choose Keep; if Edge asks again, open the extra choices and choose Keep anyway. In Chrome, open the download list and choose the option to keep the file. When you open it afterwards, the Windows window above appears.

How to make sure the file is the real one

  • Download VoiceKeyboard from voice-keyboard.com, with the Download button on the home page. A copy from another site may have been changed.
  • The file is called GrinStudio.VoiceKeyboard-win-Setup.exe. If you downloaded it twice, the browser may add a number, such as (1), to the name.
  • On the second screen of the window, the App line shows the same name.

After installation, updates work differently: VoiceKeyboard installs an update only when it carries the signature of Grin Studio's own update key.

If there is no “Run anyway”

  • Smart App Control (Windows 11). When it is on, Windows blocks programs without a digital signature that its cloud service cannot vouch for, and the window has no button to run them. Microsoft does not allow an exception for a single program: What is Smart App Control. Turning it off changes protection for every program, so it is your decision. If you would rather keep it on, write to us.
  • A work or school computer. The administrator may forbid programs that are not on an approved list. Ask them to allow VoiceKeyboard.

If your antivirus stops the installer

A security product other than Windows Security may ask about a new program or move the installer to quarantine. Restore it only if you downloaded it from voice-keyboard.com. Which VoiceKeyboard folders to add to the trusted list, and where to click in common products, is on the page Antivirus and firewall.

Why new programs get this warning

SmartScreen builds trust in a file over time: the more people download and run it without problems, the better Microsoft knows it. A digital signature lets that trust carry over to the publisher's next versions. A new program without a signature starts from zero, and each new version of it starts again. Microsoft does not publish how many downloads that takes, so we cannot say when the window will stop appearing for VoiceKeyboard.

Once VoiceKeyboard is installed, Getting started walks you through the first dictation.