WinLevers now has ready-made installers

Until now, the only way to run WinLevers was to clone the repository and build it in Visual Studio. That is a fair ask for a developer and a real obstacle for everyone else, so version 0.1.0 comes with ready-made builds on the GitHub Releases page.

Which file to pick

• WinLevers-win-x64-setup.exe for Intel and AMD PCs.
• WinLevers-win-arm64-setup.exe for ARM PCs, such as the Snapdragon laptops.
• The portable zips, if you would rather not install anything: unzip anywhere and run it from there.

The installer is for your user only. It never asks for administrator rights, and everything it needs, the .NET runtime and the Windows App SDK included, is in the download.

The warnings on first run, and why they are fine

The builds are not signed with a paid code-signing certificate, so Windows has no reputation for them yet and will ask you to confirm, once in the browser and once when you run the file. In Edge, choose ⋯ → Keep, then Show more → Keep anyway. When Windows says it protected your PC, choose More info, then Run anyway. For a portable zip, right-click it before unzipping, open Properties, tick Unblock and choose OK.

That is SmartScreen’s reputation check, not a sign that anything was found in the file. If you would like to know exactly what you are running, the full source is on GitHub, and every file on the release page has a checksum in SHA256SUMS.txt. The one case not to click through is Microsoft Defender naming an actual threat: then check the checksum, or build from source.

Before your first change

WinLevers edits real settings in the Windows registry. It previews every write, journals it and can put changes back, but take a System Restore point before your first batch all the same. The app reminds you of that every time it starts.

The steps are also on the WinLevers page, and the changelog lists what is in 0.1.0.