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alienfactor edited this page Aug 8, 2026 · 1 revision

The Queue Pop Notifier Windows companion client is currently not digitally signed.

Because of this, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen may display a warning when you start QueuePopNotifier.exe, especially after downloading a new version.

Why does Windows show this warning?

Windows uses SmartScreen to help protect users from unknown or potentially unsafe applications.

Queue Pop Notifier is a small, free and open-source project and currently does not use a commercial code-signing certificate. Without such a certificate, Windows cannot verify a trusted software publisher and may therefore show the application as coming from an Unknown publisher.

This warning does not automatically mean that the application is malicious. It means that Windows does not have a trusted digital signature or sufficient reputation information for the executable.

What the warning may look like

You may see a message similar to:

Windows protected your PC

Microsoft Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting. Running this app might put your PC at risk.

The application may be listed as:

App:
QueuePopNotifier.exe

Publisher:
Unknown publisher

Starting Queue Pop Notifier

If you downloaded the client from the official Queue Pop Notifier GitHub repository:

  1. Open the SmartScreen warning.
  2. Select More info if Windows only shows the initial warning.
  3. Check that the application name is QueuePopNotifier.exe.
  4. Select Run anyway to start the client.

Always download Queue Pop Notifier from the official release page:

Latest Queue Pop Notifier Release

Verify the download

Each Windows release includes a SHA-256 checksum file:

QueuePopNotifier.exe.sha256

A checksum is a unique fingerprint of a file. You can use it to verify that the downloaded executable matches the file published with the release.

Check the SHA-256 hash with PowerShell

Open PowerShell in the folder containing QueuePopNotifier.exe and run:

Get-FileHash .\QueuePopNotifier.exe -Algorithm SHA256

Compare the displayed hash with the value in:

QueuePopNotifier.exe.sha256

The two values should be identical.

Why isn't the application signed?

Digitally signing a Windows application requires a trusted code-signing certificate.

These certificates involve additional cost and administrative requirements. For a small free open-source project, this is currently difficult to justify.

The source code is publicly available on GitHub, and release builds include SHA-256 checksums so users can verify downloaded files.

Security recommendation

Only download Queue Pop Notifier from:

  • the official GitHub repository
  • the official GitHub Releases page

Do not run copies of QueuePopNotifier.exe downloaded from unknown third-party websites.

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