Is it safe to turn it off?

Smart App Control is an extra layer on top of Microsoft Defender Antivirus, which stays on. Most Windows PCs run without it: Windows itself turns it off on PCs where it would keep getting in the way. Keep downloading only from official pages.

Can I allow just one file?

No. Smart App Control has no list of exceptions, and Defender's exclusions don't apply to it. It is either on or off.

Can it block K-YOU, Script Hook V or Menyoo?

It can block any unsigned file Microsoft's cloud doesn't trust yet, and most mod files are unsigned. On our PC it blocked the K-YOU 1.0 file for GTA V on its first day, when nobody had run it yet. Script Hook V, ScriptHookVDotNet, Menyoo and MoonLoader, which many players run, loaded every time.

I can't turn it back on (the switch is greyed out)

Your Windows doesn't have the April 2026 update yet: run Windows Update and look again. If your PC belongs to a school or a company, its administrator may control the setting.

Is it safe to turn it off?

Smart App Control is an extra layer on top of Microsoft Defender Antivirus, which stays on. Most Windows PCs run without it: Windows itself turns it off on PCs where it would keep getting in the way. Keep downloading only from official pages.

Can I allow just one file?

No. Smart App Control has no list of exceptions, and Defender's exclusions don't apply to it. It is either on or off.

Can it block K-YOU, Script Hook V or Menyoo?

It can block any unsigned file Microsoft's cloud doesn't trust yet, and most mod files are unsigned. On our PC it blocked the K-YOU 1.0 file for GTA V on its first day, when nobody had run it yet. Script Hook V, ScriptHookVDotNet, Menyoo and MoonLoader, which many players run, loaded every time.

I can't turn it back on (the switch is greyed out)

Your Windows doesn't have the April 2026 update yet: run Windows Update and look again. If your PC belongs to a school or a company, its administrator may control the setting.

Fix guide

Windows 11 Smart App Control blocked a GTA mod: what to do

Windows 11's Smart App Control blocks programs and DLLs that aren't signed and that Microsoft's cloud doesn't know as safe. Many mod loaders are exactly that, so it can stop a GTA mod from loading, even one that worked yesterday. Here is how to tell, and what to do.

About 5 minutes
Windows 11
GTA San Andreas and GTA V

The signs

What's going on

Smart App Control asks Microsoft's cloud about the unsigned files a program loads, and the answer can change: a mod loader that loaded fine for weeks can be blocked one day and let through the next, and a brand-new file nobody has run yet is the most likely to be stopped. It happened to us three times: the ASI loader in GTA San Andreas, then Lenny's Mod Loader and the new K-YOU 1.0 in GTA V. Only Windows 11 has it. It is on in some fresh Windows installs and off on most PCs; to see yours: Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control.

GTA San Andreas: the game won't start, with a "Bad Image" message that names the ASI loader (usually vorbisFile.dll) and Error status 0xc0e90002.
GTA V: every Lenny's Mod Loader mod is missing at once: add-on cars are "Invalid" in Menyoo, K-YOU shows as "Self Radio", and vfs.log in the GTA V folder kept an old date (LML didn't start).
GTA V script mods: the mod does nothing, and ScriptHookVDotNet.log says "An Application Control policy has blocked this file" next to its name (for K-YOU: on the wheel, but no music).
To be sure: Event Viewer → Applications and Services Logs → Microsoft → Windows → CodeIntegrity → Operational. An event 3077 that names the file (for example vfs.dll) under the policy VerifiedAndReputableDesktop is Smart App Control.

Smart App Control is Off on your PC, or you're on Windows 10? Then it isn't the cause, and you can skip this guide.

The fix

1Start the game once more. A block can be a one-off: on our PC the same, unchanged LML file was blocked once and loaded fine on the next start.
2GTA San Andreas: use Silent's ASI Loader 1.3, which Smart App Control lets through. Our ASI loader guide has the exact file.
3Still blocked? Turn Smart App Control off: Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control settings → Off. Microsoft Defender Antivirus stays on and keeps scanning your files.
4Start the game. The mod loads.

Turning it off used to be for good. Before Windows 11's April 2026 update, Smart App Control could not be turned back on without reinstalling Windows. With the April 2026 update (KB5083769) or newer, you can turn it back on from the same screen. Run Windows Update before you turn it off.

While Smart App Control is on, it checks the file again every time the game starts, so a mod loader it blocks stays blocked. To keep playing with that mod, leave it off. And download mods and tools only from their official pages: that is the protection that matters most.

Check it worked

GTA San Andreas: the game starts and your mods load.
GTA V: add-on cars spawn again, and vfs.log in the GTA V folder has today's date.

Turning it back on

Windows Security → App & browser control → Smart App Control settings → On. It needs the April 2026 update or newer; on an older Windows the option stays greyed out. Your mod loader may be blocked again the next time the game starts.

Troubleshooting

All guides Still stuck? Write to us