Your system blocks the install?

Smart App Control

"Part of this app has been blocked", then "Failed to install Warren VPN Beta service" and an interrupted install

This is the only block that truly stops the install. Smart App Control refuses to load an unsigned file, so the installer cannot register the Warren service and gives up halfway.

It only exists on a cleanly installed Windows 11, never on a machine upgraded from Windows 10. That is why your neighbour never saw it.

1. 1 Open Settings, Privacy and security, Windows Security, App and browser control.
2. 2 Open the Smart App Control settings and choose Off.
3. 3 Restart the PC.
4. 4 Run the Warren installer again.

Treat turning it off as permanent. On most machines it cannot be turned back on without reinstalling Windows, and the screen tells you so before you confirm: read it. Microsoft started making the switch reversible with an optional March 2026 update, rolled out in waves, so do not count on it until Windows has told you as much. If you would rather not touch your security settings, wait for the signed build: an interrupted install leaves nothing behind.

The blue SmartScreen screen

"Windows protected your PC"

This one blocks nothing, it asks for a confirmation.

1. 1 Click More info.
2. 2 Click Run anyway.

Your antivirus quarantines the file

An antivirus sometimes judges an unknown installer on its missing signature alone, and Warren installs a system service and a network driver, which raises its suspicion. Check the file checksum below, then allow it in your antivirus.

Gatekeeper refuses to open the package

"Apple could not verify ... is free of malware"

The only buttons offered are Move to Bin and Done, and since macOS 15 right-clicking then Open no longer helps. The permission is granted in the settings.

1. 1 Double-click the .pkg, then click Done on the warning.
2. 2 Open System Settings, Privacy and Security, and scroll down to the Security section.
3. 3 Click Open Anyway on the line naming the file.
4. 4 Confirm in the last dialog and enter your administrator password: the install starts.

That button stays available for about an hour after the attempt. If it is gone, double-click the file again and go back to the settings. And if the warning comes back anyway, which happens with some packages, use the method below.

If the button changes nothing, or never shows up

Open Terminal (Applications, Utilities) and paste this line. It removes the "downloaded from the internet" tag macOS puts on the file, and that tag alone is what triggers the block.

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ~/Downloads/WarrenVPN-Beta-*.pkg

Then double-click the .pkg: the warning does not come back.

Nothing to work around

No block of this kind on Linux. Install the package for your distribution. If the installer refuses to start, check the architecture: Linux comes in x64 and arm64, Windows in x64 only.

Install from an unknown source

Your phone refuses to install an app coming from whatever you opened the file with

The beta app ships as a direct APK, with no Play Store in between. Since Android 8 the permission is granted per app: the one that needs it is the app you open the APK from, your browser or your file manager.

1. 1 Open the downloaded file and accept going to the settings when the phone offers it.
2. 2 Or go to Settings, Apps, Special app access, Install unknown apps, and allow your browser or your file manager.
3. 3 Go back to the downloaded file and start the install.

You can revoke that permission right after: it is only needed while installing.