No matter if you’re using your employer or your personal computer, it’s a huge security risk if anyone can install software on your device. An unknown app may lead to a malware infection, or it could monitor your activity, which is a considerable threat to personal security.

Additionally, it’s really annoying to constantly have to remove useless apps that others have installed. In this article, we’ll show you how you can use Windows built-in tools to stop anyone from installing software on your computer. Also, there are a couple of third-party apps that you can use.

1. Add a Local User (Non-Administrative) Account

If you don’t want to install an app or constantly change your system settings to keep other people from installing software on your computer, adding a standard account should be enough. A Local User account has no elevated rights and can’t manage apps or change your system settings.

Here’s how you can quickly add a Local User account in Windows 11:

  1. Launch Windows Settings and go to Accounts.
  2. There, select Family & other users.
  3. Click the Add account button next to Add a family member.
  4. Go through the steps and make sure to choose a non-administrative account.
Managing accounts on a Windows computer

Additionally, you can remove any other administrative Microsoft account, except for yours.

2. Stop Users From Installing Third-Party Apps

There’s a chance that stopping other users from installing third-party apps on your computer might be enough to keep you safe from any malware attack. Here’s how you can set your system to allow the installation of Microsoft apps only.

  1. Open the Settings menu by pressing Windows key + I.
  2. From the left pane, select Apps.
  3. Click Apps & features.
  4. Open the drop-down menu next to Choose where to get apps and select The Microsoft Store only (Recommended).
Apps settings in Windows 11

These methods aren’t that complicated, and they might not stop a user with basic knowledge about Windows from installing software. So, we’ll take a look at more complex solutions to keep your computer safe.

3. Edit the Group Policy Editor

Group Policy contains multiple groups of policies, allowing you to change administrative-level settings. There’s a Windows Installer dedicated policy that you can disable and stop users from installing new software on your computer. Here’s how you can do it:

  1. Press Windows key + R to bring up a Run dialog.
  2. Type gpedit.msc and click OK.
  3. In the Local Group Policy Editor, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Installer.
  4. In the right pane, locate and open Turn off Windows Installer.
  5. Select Enabled.
  6. Click Apply > OK to save the new system changes.
Turning off Windows Installer from Group Policy

The change will take effect after you restart your computer. If you want to undo the change, go through the above steps and select Disabled in step 5.

4. Don't Run Specified Windows Applications

Another way to block the Windows Installer from being used can be found in another area of the Local Group Policy Editor.

Go back to the main menu in the Policy Editor window, and navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System. In the right-hand window, scroll down until you find Don't Run Specified Windows Applications. As the title implies, this is used for blocking certain programs from being run, but we can also use it to block the Windows Installer.

Group Policy apps in Windows 11

Double-click that and another window appears. When you click Enabled, a new option appears called List of Disallowed Applications. Click Show and a third window appears, where you type in the path of the program to be blocked.

You have to lay out the route to the location of the Windows Installer, so the Policy Editor can find it. The Windows Installer Program is called msiexec.exe and is located at C:\Windows\System32\msiexec.exe

Copy and paste that into the space provided in the box and click OK. The Windows Installer should now be blocked.

5. Edit the Registry Editor

Similar to the Group Policy Editor, the Registry Editor contains settings regarding your operating system and all the installed software. Before editing the registry, create a restore point in case something goes wrong and you end up messing up the registry.

  1. In the Start menu search bar, search for registry editor and select the Best match.
  2. In the Registry Editor window, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Classes > Msi.Package > DefaultIcon.
  3. In the right pane, open the (Default) key.
  4. Change Value data to C:\Windows\System32\msiexec.exe,1.
  5. Restart your computer.
Editing the registry in Windows 11

6. Disable USB Ports

Even if you haven’t connected your computer to the internet, someone might still install software on your computer using a USB flash drive. To prevent this from happening, you should disable the USB ports. The process is quite simple, and you can re-enable the ports when you need them.

7. Software Options

If you’re not comfortable editing the Group Policy or Registry Editor, you can try an app to stop other users from installing software without your approval.

Install-Block

This stops anything from being installed by looking out for certain keywords in apps running on your system. So if someone tries to install something, and a keyword is noticed, Install-Block automatically blocks it from going any further.

Install-Block will ask for a password when someone tries to install an app on your computer. If they don’t know the password, they can’t continue the process.

Install block for Windows

Even if you’ve signed in with an administrative account, Install-Block will stop anyone from making changes to your system as it can block access to the Start menu, Task Manager, Control Panel, and more.

Additionally, you can use Install-Block to stop people from accessing the folders, software, or even games.

Download: Install-Block (Free trial)

Deep Freeze

One final intriguing option is "deep-freezing" your computer, which resets your system back to a previous state every time you reboot it. This way, any changes made to your computer will be wiped out when rebooted. So if someone dares to install something, it will be deleted when you switch the computer off.

Deep Freeze for Windows

The only downside to this of course is that it will also wipe out your changes. So it's not perfect.

Download: Deep Freeze (Free trial)

No More Unauthorized Apps

As we’ve discussed, there are plenty of options when it comes to stopping other users from installing software on your computer. Even Windows native solutions are enough to keep your computer safe. However, if you want to take it a step further, you can choose one of the software options.

If you’re concerned about malware attacks or keyloggers, there are more ways to upgrade your Windows 11 security.