Change security and privacy settings for Internet Explorer 11

The new browser recommended by Microsoft is here

Get speed, security, and privacy with the new Microsoft Edge .

Privacy settings

By adjusting Internet Explorer’s privacy settings, you can affect how websites monitor your online activity. For example, you can decide which cookies are stored, choose how and when sites can use your location info, and block unwanted pop-ups.

Cookies are small files that websites put on your PC to store information about you and your preferences. Cookies can make your browsing experience better by letting sites remember your preferences or letting you avoid signing in each time you visit certain sites. However, some cookies might put your privacy at risk by tracking sites that you visit. For more info, see Delete and manage cookies in Internet Explorer.

When Do Not Track is turned on, Internet Explorer will send a Do Not Track request to the sites you visit and to the third parties whose content is hosted on those sites to let the sites know that you would prefer not to be tracked. For more info, see Do Not Track.

Browsers store some info—like your search history—to help improve your experience on the web. When you use InPrivate Browsing, info like passwords, search history, and page history is deleted once you close the tab.

To open an InPrivate Browsing session, right–click the Internet Explorer icon on the taskbar, and select Start InPrivate Browsing.

To turn off add-ons in InPrivate Browsing sessions

Open the desktop, and then select the Internet Explorer icon on the taskbar.

Select the Tools button , and then select Internet options.

On the Privacy tab, select the Disable toolbars and extensions when InPrivate Browsing starts check box, and select OK.

Location Services lets sites ask for your physical location to improve your experience. For example, a mapping site can request your physical location to center the map for you. Internet Explorer will let you know when a site wants to use your location. When this happens, select Allow once to let a site use your location just one time. If you want the site to use your location each time you visit, select Always allow.

To turn off location sharing

If you don’t want sites to ask for your physical location, you can turn off location sharing. Here’s how:

Open Internet Explorer by selecting the Internet Explorer icon on the taskbar.

Click the Tools button , and then select Internet options.

On the Privacy tab, under Location, select the Never allow websites to request your physical location check box.

Pop-up Blocker limits or blocks pop-ups on sites that you visit. You can choose the level of blocking you prefer, turn on or off notifications when pop-ups are blocked, or create a list of sites that you don’t want to block pop-ups on. Pop-up Blocker settings only apply to Internet Explorer.

To turn Pop-up Blocker on or off

Open Internet Explorer, select the Tools button , and then select Internet options.

On the Privacy tab, under Pop-up Blocker, select or clear the Turn on Pop-up Blocker check box, and then select OK.

Block all pop-ups

Open Internet Explorer, select the Tools button , and then select Internet options.

On the Privacy tab, under Pop-up Blocker, select Settings.

In the Pop-up Blocker settings dialog box, under Blocking level, set the blocking level to High: Block all pop-ups (Ctrl + Alt to override).

Select Close, and then select OK.

Turn off notifications when pop-ups are blocked

Open Internet Explorer, select the Tools button , and then select Internet options.

On the Privacy tab, under Pop-up Blocker, select Settings.

In the Pop-up Blocker settings dialog box, clear the Show Notification bar when a pop-up is blocked check box.

Select Close, and then select OK.

Tracking Protection helps prevent information about your browsing from being sent to third-party content providers on sites you visit. Think of a Tracking Protection Lists as a “do not call” list. Internet Explorer blocks any third-party content from sites on the list, and limits the info that those third-party sites can collect about you.

Security zones

By changing the security settings, you can customize how Internet Explorer helps protect your PC from potentially harmful or malicious web content. Internet Explorer automatically assigns all websites to a security zone: Internet, Local intranet, Trusted sites, or Restricted sites. Each zone has a different default security level that determines what kind of content can be blocked for that site. Depending on the security level of a site, some content can be blocked until you choose to allow it, ActiveX controls might not run automatically, or you might see warning prompts on certain sites. You can customize the settings for each zone to decide how much protection you do or don’t want.

Open Internet Explorer, select the Tools button , and then select Internet options.

Select the Security tab and customize your security zone settings in these ways:

To change settings for any security zone, select the zone icon, and then move the slider to the security level that you want.

To create your own security settings for a zone, select the zone icon, and then select Custom level and choose the settings that you want.

To restore all security levels to their original settings, select the Reset all zones to default level button.

Open Internet Explorer, select the Tools button , and then select Internet options.

Select the Security tab, choose one of the security zone icons ( Local intranet, Trusted sites, or Restricted sites), and then select Sites. You can add sites to the zone you chose, or delete sites that you no longer want in this zone.

If you chose Local intranet in the previous step, select Advanced, and then do one of the following:

Add a site. Enter a URL into the Add this website to the zone box, and then select Add.

Remove a site. Under Websites, select the URL you want to remove, and then select Remove.

Enhanced Protected Mode makes it harder for malware to run in Internet Explorer.

To turn on or off Enhanced Protected Mode

Open Internet Explorer, select the Tools button, and then select Internet Options.

On the Advanced tab, under Security, select (or clear) the Enable Enhanced Protected Mode check box, and then select OK. You’ll need to restart your PC before this setting takes effect.

Cannot access some websites in Internet Explorer

This article provides methods to solve the issue that Internet Explorer can’t access certain websites and provides solutions.

Original product version: В Internet Explorer 10, Internet Explorer 9
Original KB number: В 967897

To resolve this problem, try the following methods in the order in which they’re given.

Manually enter the shortcut

Try to open a problem website by manually entering the shortcut (web address) instead of clicking the link for that site:

1. Right-click the link for the website, and then click Copy shortcut.
2. Paste the shortcut into the Address bar of Internet Explorer.
3. Press Enter.

Use the troubleshooter

If none of the previous methods resolve the problem, try to run the Network and Internet Troubleshooter. Right-click the network icon in the notification area, select Troubleshoot problems, and then select Internet Connections. The Troubleshooter might ask you some questions or reset some common settings during this process. If running the Network and Internet Troubleshooter doesn’t resolve the problem, look for your specific problem in the following list.

I can access some websites, but not all of them

Windows 8.1 and Windows 10

Swipe in from the right edge of the screen (if you’re using a mouse, press the Windows + C keys), and then tap or click Search. Enter Internet options in the search box, and then tap or click Settings.

In the search results, tap or click Internet Options. Tap or click the Advanced tab and then tap or click Reset.

Select the Delete personal settings check box if you would also like to remove browsing history, search providers, Accelerators, home pages, Tracking Protection, and ActiveX Filtering data.

In the Reset Internet Explorer Settings window tap or click Reset.

To delete all personal settings, tap or click the checkbox for Delete personal settings.

Close and then restart Internet Explorer for the changes to take effect.

Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7

• Exit all programs, including Internet Explorer.
• If you use Windows XP, click Start >Run. Type inetcpl.cpl in the Open box, and then press Enter.
  If you use Windows 7 or Windows Vista, click the Start button. Type inetcpl.cpl in the Search box, and then press Enter. The Internet Options dialog box appears.
• Select the Advanced tab.
• Under Reset Internet Explorer settings, click Reset. Then click Reset again.
  Select the Delete personal settings check box if you also want to remove browsing history, search providers, Accelerators, home pages, Tracking Protection, and ActiveX Filtering data.
• When Internet Explorer finishes resetting the settings, click Close in the Reset Internet Explorer Settings dialog box.
• Start Internet Explorer again.

If you still can’t access some websites, get help from the Microsoft Community online.

For more information about How to reset settings in Internet Explorer, see video.

I can’t access my bank and email websites or other secure websites

When you connect to a secure website, Internet Explorer uses an encrypted channel that uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt transactions. Corrupted information in the SSL can cause websites not to load correctly. Clearing the SLL state may resolve this problem. To do it, follow these steps for your version of Windows.

Windows 8.1 and Windows 10

• Swipe in from the right edge of the screen (if you’re using a mouse, press Windows logo key+C keys), and then tap or click Search. Enter Internet options in the search box, and then tap or click Settings.
• In the search results, tap or click Internet Options. Tap or click the Content tab, and then tap or click Clear SSL state.

Windows Vista and Windows 7

• Click the Start button, type Internet Explorer in the search box. In the list of results, click Internet Explorer.
• In Internet Explorer, click Tools, and then click Internet Options.
• Click the Content tab, and then click Clear SSL state.

If clearing the SSL state doesn’t resolve the problem, the date and time settings on your PC might be incorrect. Some secure sites require that the date and time on your PC match the date and time of the website. To check the date and time, follow these steps for your version of Windows.

Windows 8.1 and Windows 10

• Swipe in from the right edge of the screen (if you’re using a mouse, press the Windows + C keys), and then tap or click Search. Enter date and time in the search box, and then tap or click Settings.
• In the search results, tap or click Date and Time, and then tap or click Change date and time.
• In the Date and Time Setting window, set the current date and time.
• Click OK, click Apply, and then click OK.

Windows Vista and Windows 7

• In Control Panel, open Date and Time. To do it, click the Start button, type date and time in the Start Search box, and then click Date and Time in the Programs list.
• Click Change date and time.
• In the Date and Time Settings dialog box, set the date and time to the correct values.
• Click OK two times.

If the date and time settings on your PC were correct, some incompatible or defective Internet Explorer add-ons might be interfering with the website. You might be able to resolve this problem if you turn off these add-ons. To automatically disable a list of known incompatible add-ons, run the Internet Explorer Add-on Fix it. When you are asked whether you want to run or save the file, click Run, and then follow the steps in the wizard.

If the Add-on Fix it doesn’t resolve this problem, changes were made to your installation of Internet Explorer might be preventing you from viewing some websites. You can reset Internet Explorer to its original settings to remove any changes without deleting your favorites or feeds. To automatically reset the Internet Explorer settings, run the following Reset Internet Explorer Settings Fix it. When you are asked whether you want to run or save the file, click Run, and then follow these steps in the wizard.

Windows 8.1 and Windows 10

• Swipe in from the right edge of the screen (if you’re using a mouse, press the Windows + C keys), and then tap or click Search. Enter Internet options in the search box, and then tap or click Settings.
• In the search results, tap or click Internet Options. Tap or click the Programs tab, then tap or click Manage add-ons.
• In the Manage add-ons window, tap or click the dropdown under Show, then tap or click All add-ons.
• Tap or click each add-on, and then tap or click Disable. When you are finished, tap or click OK.

Reset Internet Explorer to its original settings

• Swipe in from the right edge of the screen (if you’re using a mouse, press the Windows + C keys), and then tap or click Search. Enter Internet options in the search box, and then tap or click Settings.
• In the search results, tap or click Internet Options. Tap or click the Advanced tab and then tap or click Reset. .

Select the Delete personal settings check box if you would also like to remove browsing history, search providers, Accelerators, home pages, Tracking Protection, and ActiveX Filtering data.

• In the Reset Internet Explorer Settings window tap or click Reset.

To delete all personal settings, tap or click the checkbox for Delete personal settings.

• Close and then restart Internet Explorer for the changes to take effect.

If you still can’t access secure websites, get help from the Microsoft Community online.

I can’t access any websites

If you can’t view any websites, you are probably disconnected from the Internet. Try to run the Network and Internet Troubleshooter. Right-click the network icon in the notification area, select Troubleshoot problems, and then select Internet Connections. The Troubleshooter might ask you some questions or reset some common settings during this process.

If the date and time settings on your PC were correct, some incompatible or defective Internet Explorer add-ons might be interfering with the website. You might be able to resolve this problem if you turn off these add-ons. To automatically disable a list of known incompatible add-ons, run the Internet Explorer Add-on Fix it. When you are asked whether you want to run or save the file, click Run, and then follow these steps in the wizard for your version of Windows.

Windows 8.1 and Windows 10

• Swipe in from the right edge of the screen (if you’re using a mouse, press the Windows + C keys), and then tap or click Search. Enter Troubleshooting in the search box, and then tap or click Settings.
• Tap or click Troubleshooting in the search results pane.
• In the Troubleshooting window, tap or click View all.
• Tap or click Internet Explorer Performance, and in the Internet Explorer Performance window, tap or click Next.
• Follow the onscreen instructions to run the Troubleshooter.

If the Add-on Fix it doesn’t resolve this problem, it’s possible that changes were made to your installation of Internet Explorer that is preventing you from viewing some websites. You can reset Internet Explorer to its original settings to remove any changes without deleting your favorites or feeds. To automatically reset the Internet Explorer settings, run the following Reset Internet Explorer Settings Fix it. When you are asked whether you want to run or save the file, click Run, and then follow the steps in the wizard.

If you still can’t access websites, get help from the Microsoft Community online.

References

If you still can’t access some websites after you follow the steps in this article, you can try the following resources for more support.