The "allow apps downloaded from" setting won't stay selected All my (downloaded?) files restored from Time Machine are marked as "damaged". I assume the problem is similar to this one: All downloaded files cannot be opened as they are &#39;damaged and should be moved to the Trash&#39; so I try to change the "Allow app..." setting.

I open Security &amp; Privacy and see App Store is selected:


I click the padlock and check "App Store and identified developers":

(I also notice that "Anywhere" is no longer an option.)

I leave System Preferences and try to open my files, but still get the error. So I go back to System Preferences, Security &amp; Privacy and the old option is still selected:
Since this is a new Mac and nothing was working anyway, I decided I had nothing to lose by wiping it and starting over. So I restarted it and held down Command + R. From the menu I selected to reinstall macOS. After waiting 40 minutes I was disappointed to see that this option did not wipe the drive, and my restored accounts were still there on the login screen. I was about to restart again and this time format the drive, but I thought What the heck, and logged into my account. Surprisingly none of the files I opened were reported as damaged! Everything seems to be working now.