Over-active Microsoft Defender

To help mitigate the issue of Microsoft Defender flagging your software as not commonly downloaded, you can take the following steps:

1. Digital Signing: Ensure that your program's files are signed with a digital certificate issued by a trusted root authority. This can help Microsoft identify your software more quickly and may lead to it being added to a known list, reducing the likelihood of false positives.
2. Submit Your Software for Analysis: If you believe your software is being incorrectly flagged, you can submit it for analysis. This can help Microsoft assess its reputation and potentially adjust its classification.
3. User Education: Inform your potential users about the warning and encourage them to proceed with the installation if they trust the source. You can provide instructions on how to bypass the warning if they encounter it.
4. Frequent Updates: Regularly update your software to maintain its reputation and ensure that it remains compliant with security standards.
5. Feedback to Microsoft: If you have reported the file multiple times and the issue persists, consider using the developer contact form provided with the submission results to reach out to Microsoft for further assistance.

By following these steps, you can improve the chances of your software being recognized as safe and reduce the number of warnings users encounter.

References:

• Software developer FAQ
• How Microsoft identifies malware and potentially unwanted applications

instead of hovering mouse over small part of message, effectively hiding anything but trash as an option, instead use a listbox to clearly identify available options as keep, discord, or report. this change would retain existing activity control, while significantly improving the accuracy of user responses.