Microsoft has announced a brand new security feature for Windows 11, which promises to help protect you from bad apps. However, if you're keen to use it, there's one small problem; you're going to need to perform an operating system reset before you can install it.

Windows 11's New Security Measure

As reported by PC World, Microsoft is planning to implement a powerful security tool into Windows 11. It's called "Smart App Control," and it'll work in a similar way to Microsoft Edge's SmartScreen.

When you download an app that Smart App Control believes is malicious, it'll warn you and stop the software from doing damage. It may sound like a regular antivirus, but it's a bit more advanced than that. While antivirus programs run on top of the operating system; Smart App Control will be embedded within Windows 11 itself.

And because of that, Microsoft can't just distribute this update onto your PC as a regular update. Because it needs to be "baked into" the system itself, you'll need to reset your Windows 11 operating system to give the feature space to fit in.

Fortunately, you'll only need to do this for PCs that ran Windows 11 before this update. If you buy a new PC after the patch comes out, it should come with Smart App Control installed and ready to go.

Microsoft Double-Downs on Windows 11 Security

It's no surprise that Microsoft wants Windows 11 to be as secure as possible. After all, the company's main reason behind making TPM 2.0 a system requirement for Windows 11 is because it provides more security for the PC as a whole.

The thing is, are Windows 11's users willing to reset their PC to get this new feature? And will Microsoft give adequate notice to its users as to what they have to do to get Smart App Control on their PCs? If neither of these things happens, then it'll take a long time for Smart App Control to get situated on the majority of Windows 11 PCs, which may cause security issues in the long run.

Smart App Control: To Reset or Not to Reset

Microsoft's new Smart App Control for Windows 11 looks to be a strong addition to the operating system's security suite. The question is, will people take the plunge and reset their PCs for this feature?