Category: Internet Explorer

Downloads Blocked By Security Zone Policy

If you installed Firefox 3 and are using Windows, you might run into a problem where Firefox does not allow you to download exe files from the Internet due to a Windows setting. You will get the message: This download has been blocked by your Security Zone Policy and your download file will never download. To fix this problem you must modify Internet Explorer settings!

IE7 Security Settings
  1. Open Internet Explorer.
  2. Choose Tools menu – Internet Options.
  3. Click the Security tab and click on the Internet icon.
  4. Click the Default Level button if it is clickable
  5. Then click Custom Level… and navigate to Miscellaneous.
  6. Under this section find the option: Launching applications and unsafe files.
  7. Change it from Disable to Prompt (Recommended).
  8. Click OK, Apply, then OK.
  9. Startup Firefox again and test it to see if it works now.

IE 8 Browsers

If you are using IE 8, you should probably look at modifying these settings as well:

  1. Click on Tools – Internet Options.
  2. Click on the Security tab.
  3. Click on the Sites button and verify that the website URL is in the list of trusted sites.
  4. Back on the Security tab, click Custom Level…
  5. Locate the Automatic prompting for file downloads sub-category immediately under the Downloads category. Set the radial button to Enable.
  6. Locate the File download sub-category immediately under the Downloads category and set the radial button to Enable.
  7. Click OK to save the changes and Yes when prompted to confirm the changes.
  8. Exit completely out of all IE windows and then try it again
Filed under: Firefox, Internet Explorer

Fixing IE7 Toolbars

Just when you think that perhaps Microsoft has learned a thing or two about interface design (after all they just released Vista, which is suppose to be their greatest interface achievement of all time), you install Internet Explorer 7 and are greeted with the cruel joke that is the IE7 Toolbars. Why did they put the menu bar in the middle? This is contrary to every other application on Windows. Supposedly it is due to Vista’s interface.

IE 7 toolbars

There is a registry key that you can add to force the menu bar to load on top, like it is in IE6. You will need to add the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar\WebBrowser\
ITBar7Position

(Data Type: REG_DWORD) Set to 1 to enable.

After you add the key, close IE7 and open it up and it should now look similar to this:

IE 7 toolbars fixed

Reference Microsoft Developer Tony Schreiner’s Weblog.

Filed under: Internet Explorer

Friendly HTTP Error Messages

When it comes to Internet Explorer, there is one feature that is not particularly useful for web developers. Both IE 6 and the newer version 7, have a feature that overrides error messages sent from the web server to the browser. This feature takes effect any time an error message is less than 512 bytes long. To turn off this feature, you need to bring up Internet Options and go to the Advanced tab, under the Browsing section you will find: Show Friendly HTTP Error Messages. You need to clear this setting and now IE will display all error messages sent from the server.

IE 7 - Internet Tools Advanced Tab

Note that most web servers send 404 error messages that are less that 512 bytes, by default.

Filed under: Internet Explorer