Windows 10 Creators Update Preview Build Brings App Blocking To Fast Ring

With the release of Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15046, Microsoft is publicly bringing its Win32 app blocking feature to the forefront. We first talked about the feature earlier this week, and Microsoft has officially dubbed it Application Installation Control.

As we stated before, the feature is disabled by default, but when enabled allows you to completely block the installation of legacy Win32 apps. With this setting, only apps that are downloaded from the Windows Store can be installed; no exceptions.

“The warning will direct you to the Store where you can download an alternate app if available,” explains Windows and Devices Group software engineer Dona Sarkar. “In some cases, when there’s already an equivalent app in the Store, the warning will provide link to that app.”

The alternative setting will display a prompt warning you that installing a Win32 app could compromise security and system reliability, but still allows you to proceed if you choose.

In addition to Application Installation Control, Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15046 includes some color tweaks to Cortana in the taskbar and refinements to Windows Defender. The Windows Defender Security Center now has an icon in the notification area that will display current protection status, and it can now be launched directly from the Settings app. Cortana can now “pick up where you left off” across multiple devices, and translation services have been improved across the board.

There are also over two dozen fixes that have been put in place to squash bugs and issues that plagued earlier builds. However, it should be noted that there are still a handful of known issues that haven’t yet been resolved by Microsoft.

The Windows 10 Creators Update is set to launch this spring, after which Microsoft will shift its focus to Windows 10 Redstone 3 for release later this year.