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If Windows blocks or warns you

gohide isn't code-signed with a paid certificate yet, so Windows may warn you when you download or run it. This is a reputation signal, not a virus detection — the same prompt appears for any new, independent app. Below is how to get past each step, and how to verify the file is genuinely ours.

1. "This file might harm your device" (browser)

Your browser may flag the download simply because it's new and unsigned. Keep the file:

Microsoft Edge

  1. 1In the downloads bar, hover over the gohide Setup file and click the "…" (More actions).
  2. 2Choose Keep.
  3. 3If Edge asks again, click Show more, then Keep anyway.

Google Chrome

  1. 1Click the "…" next to the download, or open chrome://downloads.
  2. 2Choose Keep.
  3. 3If prompted again, click Keep anyway.

Firefox

  1. 1Open the downloads panel and right-click the file.
  2. 2Choose Allow download, then open it.
Microsoft Edge flags the unsigned download — hover the item, click …, and choose Keep.
Microsoft Edge flags the unsigned download — hover the item, click …, and choose Keep.
"Make sure you trust… before opening" shows Publisher: Unknown — click the arrow beside Delete and choose Keep anyway.
"Make sure you trust… before opening" shows Publisher: Unknown — click the arrow beside Delete and choose Keep anyway.

2. "Unknown publisher" prompt (UAC)

gohide isn't signed, so when it starts (it elevates once to manage windows and the tray) Windows shows a User Account Control prompt from an "unknown publisher". If you instead double-click the installer from File Explorer, you may first see a blue "Windows protected your PC" SmartScreen — click More info, then Run anyway. To allow gohide:

  1. 1The prompt names gohide.exe with Publisher: Unknown.
  2. 2Click Yes to let it run.
  3. 3After code signing this will read as a verified publisher instead.
When gohide starts it requests elevation as an unknown publisher — click Yes.
When gohide starts it requests elevation as an unknown publisher — click Yes.

3. If Windows Defender removed the file

Defender may quarantine the installer or gohide's helper files by mistake. Restore them:

  1. 1Open Windows Security, then Virus & threat protection.
  2. 2Under Protection history, find the gohide item.
  3. 3Open it, choose Allow (or Restore), then run the installer again.

Prevent it recurring (optional)

  1. 1In Virus & threat protection → Manage settings → Exclusions, click Add an exclusion, then Folder.
  2. 2Add the folder %LocalAppData%\gohide (where gohide installs).

4. Verify the download is authentic

Every release publishes a SHA-256 checksum on the download page. Confirming your file matches it proves it wasn't altered in transit:

Get-FileHash .\gohide-<version>-win-Setup.exe -Algorithm SHA256

Run this in PowerShell in your Downloads folder, then compare the result with the SHA-256 shown on the download page. If they match, the file is exactly what we published.

Why does this happen? Is gohide safe?

Windows shows these prompts for any app that isn't signed with a paid certificate — it's a reputation signal, not a virus detection. gohide only hides windows and tray icons and makes no harmful changes to your system. You can verify this yourself with the SHA-256 above, and we submit every release to Microsoft to clear false positives. A code-signed build that removes these prompts is on our roadmap.

gohide running — nothing is harmed, and every change is reversible.
gohide running — nothing is harmed, and every change is reversible.
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