[Help] VS Code C++ .exe blocked by Device Guard – will Windows Defender exclusion fix this?

Posted by Significant_Tie_7440@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 5 comments

Hey everyone,

I’m trying to run a simple C++ program in VS Code using g++, but every time I compile and run, I get this error:

'...practice.exe' was blocked by your organization's Device Guard policy.

I found some suggestions saying to add my programming folder as an exclusion in Windows Defender (Virus & threat protection → Exclusions).

My questions:

Will adding an exclusion actually fix this issue?
Or is Device Guard a separate restriction that won’t be affected by Defender settings?

For context, I’m on Windows (not sure if it’s managed or just strict security settings).

If this won’t work, what’s the best alternative? (WSL, different IDE, etc.)

Thanks!

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devseglinux@reddit

Defender exclusions probably won’t fix that, at least not if the message is explicitly saying Device Guard.

Those are usually two different layers. Defender exclusions can stop AV from scanning/quarantining files, but Device Guard / WDAC is more about whether Windows is allowed to execute that binary in the first place.

So if it’s really a Device Guard policy, adding the folder to Defender exclusions usually won’t change much.

If this is a managed machine, the clean answer is honestly to check with whoever manages it, because the restriction may be intentional.

If it’s your own machine and not centrally managed, then yeah, I’d probably stop fighting that setup and use something like:

- WSL for compiling/running locally

- or a separate dev VM if you want to keep the host locked down

That tends to be less painful than trying to work around execution policies on Windows directly.

So short version:
Defender exclusion = maybe helps AV issues
Device Guard = execution policy, different problem

CryingDutch9@reddit

Haha home made cpp programs tend to be blocked as it can be very malicious, but you should be able to allow the exclude the .exe file from any antivirus or windows defender

Far_Associate_9149@reddit

Device Guard is more restrictive than just Defender - exclusions might not help if your org has Application Control policies enabled

Significant_Tie_7440@reddit (OP)

Its my personal laptop which is having a problem