site to zone assignment list multiple gpo

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Adding Sites to Internet Security Zones Using Group Policy

Sometimes it is useful to leverage the power of Group Policy in Active Directory to add sites to certain security zones in Internet Explorer.  This can save the network admin the trouble of managing the security zone lists for each computer (or user) separately.  In the following example, each user on the network needs to have a specific site added to the Trusted Sites list.

This tutorial assumes that group policy is in good working order on the domain and that all client users and computers can access the directory.

• Open the Group Policy Management MMC console.
• Right-click the organization unit (OU) that the policy should apply to, taking special care to consider whether the policy should apply to computers or users on this particular network.
• Select “Create and Link a GPO Here…” to create a new group policy object.
• In the “New GPO” window, enter a good, descriptive name for this new policy and click “OK”.   (ex.  “Trusted Sites Zone – Users” or something even more descriptive)
• Locate the newly created GPO in the left-side navigation pane, right-click it and select “Edit…”
• Expand “Administrative Templates” under either “Computer Configuration” or “User Configuration” depending on which type of OU the new policy was linked to in step 2.
• The path to the settings that this example will be using is: Administrative Templates -- Windows Components -- Internet Explorer -- Internet Control Panel -- Security Page
• In the right-hand pane, double-click “Site to Zone Assignment List”.
• Enable the policy and click the “Show…” button next to “Enter the zone assignments here.”  This will pop up the “Show Contents” window.
• Click the “Add…” button.  This will pop up the “Add Item” window.
• In the first box, labeled “Enter the name of the item to be added:”, enter the URL to the site.   (ex.  https://secure.ourimportantwebapp.com) .  Keep in mind that wildcards can be used.   (ex.  https://*.ourimportantdomain.com) .  Leave off any trailing slashes or sub-folders unless that type of specific control is called for.
• 1 – Intranet Zone
• 2 – Trusted Sites Zone
• 3 – Internet Zone
• 4 – Restricted Sites Zone
• Once the zone assignment has been entered, click “OK”.  This will once again show the “Show Contents” window and the new entry should be present.
• Click “OK” and “OK” again to get back to the Group Policy Management Console.

The new policy will take effect at the next group policy refresh interval, which is usually 15 minutes.  To test immediately, run a gpupdate /force on a user/computer that falls into the scope of the new policy and go to “Tools -> Internet Options -> Security -> Trusted Sites -> Sites”.  The site(s) added should be in the list.  If the sites do not show up, check the event logs for any group policy processing errors.

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Juicer breville says:.

November 26, 2012 at 12:11 am (UTC -5)

Hurrah, that’s what I was looking for, what a information! existing here at this web site, thanks admin of this web page.

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How to use Group Policy to configure Internet Explorer security zone sites

As you know Group Policy Preferences are these fantastic new settings that allow IT administrators perform any configuration they want on a users group using Group Policy… well almost..  In this tutorial I will show you how to configured one of the few settings that are not controlled by preferences but can be configured using a native Group Policy.

The Internet Explore site zone assignment is one of the few settings you specifically can’t configured using preferences, as you can see (image below) the User Interface to this options has been disabled.

There is a native Group Policy that allows you to control Internet Explorer site zone list is called “Site to Zone Assignment List” which I will go thought below how to use.

Step 1. Edit the Group Policy Object that is targeted to the users you whish this setting to be applied.

Step 2 . Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Internet Explorer > Internet Control Panel > Security Page and double click on the “Site to Zone Assignment List” and check the “Enable” option then click on the “Show..” button.

Step 3.   Now type the URL in the “Value name” field with the >* on the far left and then type the zone number (see table below) you want to assign to that zone.

Internet Explorer Group Policy Zone Number Mapping

As soon as you start typing the URL a new line will appear for the next URL.

Step 4. One you have finished assigning adding the URL’s and site zone number click OK

Tip: If you want to delete a row click on the button on the far left to select the row you want to delete (see image below) and then press the “Delete” key.

(sites in above list are example only)

Now the Internet Explorer Site zone list will now be populated with the zone you configured above and as you can see in the images below the Internet Explorer status bar now show the correct zone based on the that the URL’s in the address bar.

Author: Alan Burchill

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34 thoughts on “ How to use Group Policy to configure Internet Explorer security zone sites ”

Blog Post: How to use Group Policy to configure Internet Explorer security zone sites http://bit.ly/bNHowK

How to use Group Policy to configure Internet Explorer security zone sites http://bit.ly/bNHowK

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Yup, that is right and excately how we do it, however there is one problem that is of slight concern 🙁

Once the Zones are set via this GP the user can not add his own and as banks etc. today rely on Trusted Zones this is a slight problem. Our IT policy allow for users to use their PC for personal business as well as work and thus it is a slight problem that they cant add Zones for eg. their bank etc.

I have been thinking, maybe one could make a script to set Zones and deploy this via SCCM 2007.

I have not tried this for a while but i believe you can still do this if you configure it under the Internet Explorer Maintainence section of Group Policy…

The configuration for regular zones works fine. Bu the real pain starts when trying to cover zones for “Enahanced Security Configuration” which require other hives in the registry (e.g. “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\ESCDomains\MyDomain”). I have not seen a Microsoft solution for that so far. If anybody knows a smart solution and would share it, I’d really appreciate that.

You will not have to resort to a script and SCCM. Contrary to what this blog entry says can’t be done, we do use GPP to set sites into speicfic security zones. But we don’t set it as a GPP Internet Setting. We use GPP to assign the sites to their proper zones in HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains. Doing it this way we configure the sites we need configured for the organization but do not block the users’ ability to add sites they need set for their individual machines.

Ditto. This was my conclusion a few years ago when researching the various IE management methods. Have been scripting the site/zone assignment manually since then. Primarily with GPP which is fairly simple to manage Colin

GPP is server 2008 only and requires client side software correct? Anyway to do achieve the same results (managed IE Zones without disabling user access) in a 2003 AD environment?

Is there somebody who know how to do the same but with Cookies ?

Because of that, I still have to use IEM which sucks…

@AdamFowler_IT this is how you do IE zones http://t.co/uKug8h9h /cc @auteched

@alanburchill @auteched Worth noting that IE zones via this method http://t.co/qiaLSFK7 will wipe out settings from the old method!!!

with this GPO can we block all internet traffic except google and some other sites to users in the domain??

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If I understand GPOs properly, configuring this policy setting will centrally manage this setting without allowing the user to add/delete/modify any of the site to zone settings. Wouldn’t it be preferable to configure these directly in the user’s registry by use of “Preference” registry settings? I.e. creating records in “User Configuration\Preferences\Windows Settings\Registry”.

Hi, Quick question. Is it possible to have multiple sites assigned to “Intranet Zone”? If I try and add additional sites with the same zone number it states that this is not allowed. Can the links be broken up with ; , or something similar? Thanks,

you add each url in separate lines and repeat the zone number code on the right as many times in the list as you like for that zone. Each url will appear listed in that zone then.

I have a question, when you apply this group policy, users cannot add trusted website anymore by themselves. Did you know how to manage that ?

For those trying to find the answer for the above this post may be useful: http://blog.thesysadmins.co.uk/group-policy-internet-explorer-security-zones.html

It covers two methods. The first method will remove the option for the end user to edit or change the security zones, the second will allow the user to add or remove sites.

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Is there a trick to copy/pasting in multiple Value names at once? I have like 100+ IP addresses to insert… Do I have to enter them in 1 at a time?!?

I found this extremely helpful and thank you for posting this. However, for some reason, on my PC when I test the GPO, my trusted sites are affected by the GPO but the only thing that happens is that I can no longer add them; the list is empty. I added about 10 sites to the list using the method above but they are not showing up. I checked to make sure the policy was being applied correctly and it is being applied; it is making it impossible to add to my trusted sites, but the list is empty. With IE 9, the GPO would do the opposite, it would add the sites but the end-user could still add more. I used IEAK for IE 9 years ago and never had a problem, but when I installed IEAK 10 or 11, it never worked.

OK, never mind! To answer my own question, in IE 10, it no longer displays the security zone on the status bar, which stinks, but one can right-click + properties (in an empty space in the body of the webpage) and it will tell the zone you are in. Looks like the zones I added are at least showing in trusted sites. That is good enough for me I guess. Thanks for the original post once again!

I too miss the security bar on IE 10. Will be interesting to review the browser user growths next year.

any news on the copying and pasting I have 100 ips to add need help with the distribution T

Computer specialists are often called IT experts/ advisors or business development advisors, and the division of a corporation or institution of higher education that deals with software technology is often called the IT sector. Countless IT service providers such as The Roots International are offering different facilities like real estate, IT solutions and many more.

I think I have a weird question/request. I want to include my whole domain such as http://www.domain.com as a trusted site. Although, I want to exclude a single web page such as http://www.my.domain.com .

I have *www.domain.com, can http://www.my.domain.com be excluded in any way?

Well, it will provide the internet user user better experience to use internet and surfing websites through internet explorer.

Invaluable discussion ! Coincidentally , if your company has been searching for a a form , my business discovered a blank version here http://goo.gl/eJ3ETg

دم شما گرم.

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Managing Internet Explorer Trusted Sites with Group Policy

Internet Explorer Maintenance is dead. We all have our regrets, missed chances, and memories. But we have to move on. Depending on your love for power, you have two options. You can take the totalitarian route (known as Administrative Templates) or the benevolent method (known as Group Policy Preferences). Here are the two ways that you can configure Internet Explorer Trusted Sites with Group Policy.

Configuring IE Trusted Sites with Administrative Templates

Site to Zone Mapping allows you to configure trusted sites with Group Policy Administrative Templates. This setting can be found at:

• Computer Configuration/Policies/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Internet Explorer / Internet Control Panel/Security Page/Site to Zone Assignment List
• User Configuration/Policies/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Internet Explorer / Internet Control Panel/Security Page/Site to Zone Assignment List

When possible, use the computer configuration option as it will not impact user logons. When you enable the setting, you will be prompted for a value name (the website) and a value (the zone list). Here are the possible values and the zone that they correspond to:

• 1 = Intranet/Local Zone
• 2 = Trusted Sites
• 3 = Internet/Public Zone
• 4 = Restricted Sites

  The screenshot above shows one trusted site and one restricted site. There is a potential downside to managing trusted sites with Administrative Templates. You will not be able to edit the trusted sites list within Internet Explorer. If you have more than four items listed, you won’t be able to see the entire list in the IE Trusted Sites window. If you view the site properties (Alt – File – Properties), you can check a specific site’s zone though. Remember this trick as it will help you when troubleshooting! You can view the entire list in the Registry by navigating to HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains. If you are an administrator, you can edit/add/remote items from this list for testing. Just be sure to run a GPUpdate /force to undo your changes.

Bonus Points : Leave a comment below explaining why a GPUpdate /force is required to undo your changes. Super Bonus Points if you answer in a haiku.

Configuring IE Trusted Sites with Group Policy Preferences Registry

You would think that Group Policy Preferences Internet Settings could set trusted sites. Unfortunately, that setting is greyed out.

You can still configure IE site mappings with Group Policy Registry Preferences though.* The benefit of this is that your users can edit the zone lists and view all of the added sites. To set this up, create a new user side registry preference. This trick will not work under computer configuration. Enter in the following details:

• Keypath: Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains\WEBSITENAME
• Value Name: http
• Value Type: REG_DWORD
• Value Data: 2

Here is an example showing DeployHappiness being set as a trusted site with registry preferences:

If your site isn’t being placed in the Trusted Sites list, add it manually and then navigate to the registry location above. Ensure that the manual addition exactly matches your registry preference. You will also need to ensure that no Administrative Template Site to Zone settings are applied. If they are, they will wipe out your preference settings. Remember that Policies always win!

You can search your domain for site to zone settings by using this Group Policy Search script. Alan Burchill taught me this trick.

To see additional ways to configure site to zone mappings, read this very in depth example guide.

24 thoughts on “ Managing Internet Explorer Trusted Sites with Group Policy ”

I hope to replace our Site to Zone list to allow our users to enter their own in but I am not sure how to enter our entries that don’t specify a specific protocal such as http or https. So can someone tell me how I would create an entry for this:

*://*.sharepoint.com

and what about something like this – how would this be entered?

https://192.192.192.192 .:9443 (example only)

As for your first question, this info should help: https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/326140-add-trusted-sites-via-gpo-but-still-allow-users-to-add-trusted-sites?page=1#entry-2849140

As for the second question, I don’t know of a way to handle ports. In reference to your example, a link like that would be entered like this: *://192.192.192.192

This is excellent – I have used the GP preferences to add trused sites without locking users out of the setting if they need to add a site. But what about this – a program in the startup group – it is a shortcut to a file on a server – a member server of the local domain – domain.local. I want to prevent this program from prompting end-users to run it, and make sure it will run without prompting. Can this be accomplished with a GP preference as well? If so, do I need to add it to trusted sites, or to the local intranet zone or local machine zone? It would seem to be a local intranet or local machine zone I am working with here. I am not sure how to add it – whether I just need to add the local domain, or the computer name FQDN, or the path to the shared folder and the file. thanks!

This sounds like two different problems: 1. How do I get an app to run without prompting? 2. How do I make it run on startup with group policy?

The latter is easy, create it as a scheduled task that runs on startup. The former depends on what type of script it is. If it’s a vbscript then run it with cscript /b “name.vbs”.

With the old approach we had a file under trusted sites to allow the file to run. It has stopped working under 2012. Could I use this with a file? The old setting was:

file:\\Domain.com\netlogon\AsmallExe.exe

See this article on what you can configure with trusted sites: http://evilgpo.blogspot.com/2016/03/internet-explorer-site-to-zone.html

Just the ticket. Thanks a lot.

I have double-checked that the site to zone assignment policy is not configured, both under user and computer settings. We used group policy preferences because we do not want to lock down the trusted sites – only to push out the sites we want to be trusted. But for some absurd reason, the trusted sites are locked down and greyed out half the time – one day I will look and the sites are not dimmed out and will let me add or remove them. Then the next day they will be greyed out again. It is amazingly ridiculous. I am the only admin; no one else knows how to mess with the settings even if they had the admin credentials. So I have no clue why it keeps reverting back to the wrong settings. I thing our active directory needs to have dcdiag run on it a few times. Any ideas will be sincerely appreciated.

If it is locked down, it is a GP policy that is doing it (the site to zone assignment one) or a registry key that is enabling that site to zone assignment.

When you see one that does it, run a GPResult /h report.htm /f and look through that report.htm. You will see any GP settings that would block it then.

A reply to my own post – the problem was corrupted group policy on the Windows 7 computers – some of the computers were working fine. The ones that were not working, we had to delete the corrupt policy (it was preventing the updated policy settings from being applied). It was in the path C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Group Policy\History\{policy GUID}. After deleting the corrupt policy and rebooting, it fixed the problem!

Thanks for the update Sam!

You’re welcome! I am still having some issues with the trusted sites being greyed out in IE, even though I made certain not to use site to zone assignment in the policy, and only used GP preferences to add registry items for the sites in the trusted zone. Do you know what registry key I need to be looking for, that might be causing this issue?

Many thanks! Sam S.

Are you making sure that you’re applying it under HKCU, and not under HKLM? If you configure it under HKCU, users will still have the ability to add their own entries. But if you configure it under HKLM, the option to add entries will be greyed out.

Yes, I definitely deployed the preferences under the Users GP Preferences and not computer policy/preferences. However, there are some policy settings that I set in both computer and user settings in the GPO. None of these are site to zone assignments though. These settings are for all the security settings within the zones, like, download signed activeX controls – enable, download unsigned activeX controls, Prompt… etc.. – these settings are set in the computer policy and the user policy which is probably what is wrong. I should probably just disable the computer policies in the GPO. I will try that and see if it helps. Why are all these settings available in the computer side and the user side both? Is there a reason someone would set these settings in one policy over the other?

A computer side policy is available for every user that logs in already. These are generally faster to apply and are my preferred way to configure something. However, times like this are when a user side policy would be the best route for you. Remove the computer side settings and try John’s suggestions. Let us know what you find out.

Sam, another thing you can try is to access the GPO from a Windows 7 workstation running IE 9 (and make sure that there are no current Internet Explorer policies being applied to the workstation; put it in an OU that is blocking inheritance if you have to), then drill down to “User Config\Policies\Windows Settings\Internet Explorer Maintenance\Security\Security Zones and Content Ratings”. Double-click on “Security Zones and Content Ratings”, then choose “Import…” under “Security Zones and Privacy’, click “Continue” when prompted, then click “Modify Settings, then “Trusted Sites”, then the “Sites” button. You can then make whatever changes you want (add a site, remove a site, remove the check from the https box, etc). This should give you the freedom you’re looking for :).

i`ve add multiple Sites to the Site to Zone assigment list (Trusted Sites). After a new logon, i`ve check my settings, start IE11, visit the site i`ve add to the list, press Alt – File – Properties and check the Zone. Some of the sites are correct, shown in the trusted site zone, some of them not, they are in an unkown zone (mixed). I want to check the registry path Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains but this key is empty, for HKLM and HKCU. What`s wrong?

Thanks and Regards Patrick

Are you deploying the trusted sites with Policies or registry preferences?

> comment below explaining why GPUpdate /force is required to undo your changes.

For Group Policy to apply efficiently changes trigger it.

Exceptions apply. GPUPDate force is one. Security too.

Less obtusely said: “Group Policy will normally only reprocess client side extensions that have at least one policy element that changed. The exceptions to this are Security Option settings which reapply every ~16 hours on most machines and every 5 minutes on Domain Controllers. The other exceptions are when you run a gpupdate /force, and any CSEs you configure to auto-reapply. You can view this decision tree by enabling UserEnv logging as described in http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc775423%28v=ws.10%29.aspx ” … But not as haiku.

Hi, Is it possible to select the users you want that this GPO applies? It is because I need to add a web to trusted sites, but only to two users. Any idea?

You would need to configure these settings under user configuration. Then change the scope of the GPO from authenticated users to a group containing those two users.

With regards to deploying trusted sites via GPO, while allowing users to add their own entries, see if this post helps: http://community.spiceworks.com/topic/post/2849140

I’m finding that when I deploy Trusted Sites using GPP and the registry, users aren’t able to add entries themselves (it allows them to add to the list, but the entries don’t stick and are gone as soon as you reopen the dialog). Any ideas?

You sir, have a good last name! 🙂

Do you have any delete preferences configured to that registry key? If you manually browse to that key, do you see what the user added?

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Securing zone levels in Internet Explorer

Managing and configuring Internet Explorer can be complicated. This is especially true when users meddle with the numerous settings it houses. Users may even unknowingly enable the execution of malicious codes. This highlights the importance of securing Internet Explorer.

In this blog, we’ll talk about restricting users from changing security settings, setting trusted sites, preventing them from changing security zone policies, adding or deleting sites from security zones, and removing the Security tab altogether to ensure that users have a secure environment when using their browser.

Restricting users from changing security settings

A security zone is a list of websites at the same security level. These zones can be thought of as invisible boundaries that prevent certain web-based applications from performing unauthorized actions. These zones easily provide the appropriate level of security for the various types of web content that users are likely to encounter. Usually, sites are added or removed from a zone depending on the functionality available to users on that particular site.

To set trusted sites via GPO

• Open the Group Policy Management Editor .
• Go to User Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Internet Explorer > Internet Control Panel > Security Page .
• Select the Site to Zone Assignment List .
• Select Enabled and click Show to edit the list. Refer to Figure 1 below. The zone values are as follows: 1 — intranet, 2 — trusted sites, 3 — internet zone, 4 — restricted sites.
• Click Apply and OK .

Figure 1. Assigning sites to the Trusted Sites zone.

Figure 2. Enabling the Site to Zone Assignment List policy.

By enabling this policy setting, you can manage a list of sites that you want to associate with a particular security zone. See Figure 2.

Restricting users from changing security zone policies

• Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Internet Explorer .
• Double-click Security Zones: Do not allow users to change policies .
• Select Enabled .

This prevents users from changing the security zone settings set by the administrator. Once enabled, this policy disables the Custom Level button and the security-level slider on the Security tab in the Internet Options dialog box. See Figure 3.

Restricting users from adding/deleting sites from security zones

• Double-click Security Zones: Do not allow users to add/delete sites .

This disables the site management settings for security zones, and prevents users from changing site management settings for security zones established by the administrator. Users won’t be able to add or remove websites from the Trusted Sites and Restricted Sites zones or alter settings for the Local Intranet zone. See Figure 3.

Figure 3. Enabling Security Zones: Do not allow users to change policies and Security Zones: Do not allow users to add/delete sites .

Removing the Security tab

The Security tab in Internet Explorer’s options controls access to websites by applying security settings to various download and browsing options, including defining security levels for respective security zones. By removing this tab, users will no longer be able to see or change the settings established by the administrator.

• Go to User Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Internet Explorer > Internet Control Panel .
• Double-click Disable the Security page .

Figure 4. Enabling the Disable the Security page policy. Enabling this policy prevents users from seeing and changing settings for security zones such as scripting, downloads, and user authentication. See Figure 4.

There’s no denying the importance of securing Internet Explorer for any enterprise. By setting security levels, restricting users from changing security zone policies, preventing them from adding or deleting sites from security zones, and removing the Security tab, users will not be able to change any security settings in Microsoft Internet Explorer that have been established by the administrator. This helps you gain more control over Internet Explorer’s settings in your environment.

Derek Melber

Cancel reply.

Is there a way to enable Site to Zone assignment list and still let the user enter their own sites to the trusted list?

Hi Joe. You need to disable the below setting to achieve the requirement.

Note: Even if the policy is not configured, users can add their own sites. Only when the policy is enabled, users can’t add their own sites to trusted sites.

Thanks a lot.

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How To Add Sites to Internet Explorer Restricted Zone

In this post we will see the steps on how to add sites to Internet Explorer restricted zone.

To configure Internet Explorer security zones there are multiple ways to do it, in this post we will configure a group policy for the users and use Site to Zone assignment list policy setting to add the websites or URL to the restricted site zone.

This policy setting allows you to manage a list of sites that you want to associate with a particular security zone. Internet Explorer has 4 security zones, numbered 1-4, and these are used by this policy setting to associate sites to zones.

• Intranet zone
• Trusted Sites zone
• Internet zone
• Restricted Sites zone

The zone numbers have associated security settings that apply to all of the sites in the zone. Using the Site to Zone assignment list policy setting we will see how to add sites to the Internet Explorer restricted zone.

Please note that Site to Zone Assignment List policy setting is available for both Computer Configuration and User Configuration.

Launch the Group Policy Management Tool, right click on the domain and create a new group policy. Right the policy and click Edit .

In the Group Policy Management Editor navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Internet Explorer > Internet Control Panel > Security Page.

If you want to apply the group policy for the computers then navigate to – Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Internet Explore r >  Internet Control Panel > Security Page.

On the right hand side, right click the policy setting Site to Zone Assignment List and click Edit .

Click Enabled first and then under the Options click Show .  You need to enter the zone assignments. As stated earlier in this post Internet Explorer has 4 security zones and the zone numbers have associated security settings that apply to all of the sites in the zone.

We will be adding a URL to the Restricted Sites Zone . So enter the value name as the site URL that to Restricted Sites zone and enter the value as 4 . Click OK and close the Group Policy Management Editor.

We will be applying the group policy to a group that consists of users. In the Security Filtering section, click Add and select the group .

Login to the client computer and launch the Internet Explorer . Click on Tools > Internet Options > Security Tab > Restricted Sites > Click Sites .

Notice that the URL is added to the Restricted Sites zone and user cannot remove it from the list.

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Good article Prajwal .Detailed Explanation on how to add sites to internet explorer restricted zone .Keep it up .I seen your videos also in YouTube its really great.Thanks for sharing this info.

Hi Prajwal, Thank you for your article. Is there any way to block sites in all browsers.

Block all sites ?. Why would you do that ?.

I think you misunderstood the user’s question. The user was asking if there was a way to block any particular website in ALL browsers. Not just Internet Explorer.

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HOWTO: Add the required Hybrid Identity URLs to the Local Intranet list of Internet Explorer and Edge

Most Microsoft-based Hybrid Identity implementations use Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) Servers, Web Application Proxies and Azure AD Connect installations. In this series, labeled Hardening Hybrid Identity , we’re looking at hardening these implementations, using recommended practices.

In this part of the series, we’ll look at the required Hybrid Identity URLs that you want to add to the Intranet Sites list in Internet Explorer.

Note: This is the first part for adding Microsoft Cloud URLs to Internet Explorer’s zone. In this part we look at the Local Intranet zone. In the next part we look at the Trusted Sites zone.

Note: Adding URLs to the Local Intranet zone for Internet Explorer, also applies to Microsoft Edge.

Why look at the Intranet Sites?

Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS), and certain functionality in Azure Active Directory leverage Windows Integrated Authentication to allow for Single Sign-on. (SSO).

Single Sign-on reduces prompt fatigue in people and thus makes them more aware of the moments when password prompts happen and (and this is the theory…) paying more attention to what they are doing with their passwords.

I’m not a psychologist, but I do know how to make Windows Integrated Authentication work with Internet Explorer.

Intranet Sites vs. Trusted Sites (with Default settings)

Internet Explorer offers built-in zones:

• Local intranet
• Trusted sites
• Restricted sites

Per zone, Internet Explorer is allowed specific functionality. Restricted Sites is the most restricted zone and Internet Explorer deploys the maximum safeguards and fewer secure features (like Windows Integrated Authentication) are enabled.

The Local intranet zone, by default, offers a medium-low level of security, where Trusted sites allows for medium-level security. By default, the Local intranet zone allows for the following functionality beyond the Trusted sites zone:

• Local intranet does not allow ActiveX Filtering
• Local intranet allows Scriptlets
• Local intranet allows accessing data sources across domains (Trusted sites prompt)
• Local intranet allows scripting of Microsoft web browser control
• Sites in the Local intranet zone don’t prompt for client certificate selection when only one certificate exists
• Sites in the Local intranet zone may launch applications and unsafe files
• Sites in the Local intranet zone may navigate windows and frames across different domains
• Local intranet sites do not use the Pop-up Blocker feature
• Local intranet sites do not use the Defender SmartScreen feature
• Local intranet sites allow programmatic clipboard access
• Local intranet sites do not use the XSS Filter feature
• Local intranet sites allow user authentication

Possible negative impact (What could go wrong?)

Internet Explorer’s zones are defined with specific default settings to lower the security features for websites added to these zones.

When you use a Group Policy object to add websites that don’t need the functionality of the Local intranet zone to the zone, the systems in scope for the Group Policy object are opened up to these websites. This may result in unwanted behavior of the browser such as browser hijacks, identity theft and remote code executions.

While this does not represent a clear and immediate danger, it is a situation to avoid.

Getting ready

The best way to manage Internet Explorer zones is to use Group Policy.

To create a Group Policy object, manage settings for the Group Policy object and link it to an Organizational Unit, Active Directory site and/or Active Directory domain, log into a system with the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) installed with an account that is either:

• A member of the Domain Admins group, or;
• The current owner of the Group Policy Object, and have the Link GPOs permission on the Organizational Unit(s), Site(s) and/or Domain(s) where the Group Policy Object is to be linked, or;
• Delegated the Edit Settings or Edit settings, delete and modify security permission on the GPO, and have the Link GPOs permission on the Organizational Unit(s), Site(s) and/or Domain(s) where the Group Policy Object is to be linked.

The URLs to add

You’ll want to add the following URLs to the Local intranet zone, depending on the way you’ve setup your Hybrid Identity implementation:

https:// <YourADFSFarmName>

When you use federation with Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS), the URL for the AD FS Farm needs to be added to the Local Intranet zone. As AD FS is authenticated against, it need to be added to the Local intranet zone as, by default, this is the only zone for websites to allow for user authentication.

https://login.microsoftonline.com

Https://secure.aadcdn.microsoftonline-p.com.

The https://login.microsoftonline.com and https://secure.aadcdn.microsoftonline-p.com URLs are the main URLs for authenticating to Microsoft cloud services. As these URLs are used to authenticate against, they need to be added to the Local intranet zone as, by default, this is the only zone for websites to allow for user authentication.

https://aadg.windows.net.nsatc.net

• https://autologon.microsoftazuread-sso.com

If you use the Seamless Single Sign-On (3SO) feature in Azure AD Connect, then you’ll want to add the following URLS to the Local intranet zone:

• https://aadg.windows.net.nsatc.net and

These URLs need to be added to the Local intranet zone on all devices where people in the organization use the 3SO feature, as these are the URLs where they will authenticate against. Trusted sites, by default, do not allow this functionality.

If you don’t use the 3SO functionality, don’t add the above URLs.

https://account.activedirectory.windowsazure.com

It is still one of Microsoft’s recommendation to add the https://account.activedirectory.windowsazure.com URL to the Local intranet zone. However, an enhanced experience is available that no longer points employees to this URL, but instead to the https://myprofile.microsoft.com URL, that uses the normal authentication URLs.

The new enhanced experience is available in the Azure portal, under User settings , Manage user feature preview settings (in the User feature previews area) named Users can use preview features for registering and managing security info – enhanced .

If you’ve enabled the enhanced preview, don’t add the above URL.

How to add the URLs to the Local Intranet zone

To add the URLs to the Local Intranet zone, perform these steps:

• Log into a system with the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) installed.
• Open the Group Policy Management Console ( gpmc.msc )
• In the left pane, navigate to the Group Policy objects node.
• Locate the Group Policy Object that you want to use and select it, or right-click the Group Policy Objects node and select New from the menu.
• Right-click the Group Policy object and select Edit… from the menu. The Group Policy Management Editor window appears.
• In the main pane of the Group Policy Management Editor window, expand the Computer Configuration node, then Policies , Administrative Templates , Windows Components , Internet Explorer , Internet Control Panel and then the Security Page node.

• In the main pane, double-click the Sites to Zone Assignment List setting.
• Enable the Group Policy setting by selecting the Enabled option in the top pane.
• Click the Show… button in the left pane. The Show Contents window appears.

• Add the above URLs to the Local Intranet zone by entering the URL in the Value name column and the number 1 in the Value column for each of the URLs.
• Click OK when done.
• Close the Group Policy Editor window.
• In the left navigation pane of the Group Policy Management Console, navigate to the Organization Unit (OU) where you want to link the Group Policy object.
• Right-click the OU and select Link an existing GPO… from the menu.
• In the Select GPO window, select the GPO.
• Click OK to link the GPO.

Repeat the last three steps to link the GPO to all OUs that require it. Take Block Inheritance into account for OUs by linking the GPO specifically to include all people in scope.

To enable functionality in a Hybrid Identity implementation, we need to open up the web browser to allow functionality for specific web addresses. By enabling the right URLs we minimize our efforts in enabling the functionality and also minimize the negative effect on browser security.

There is no need to add all the URLs to specific Internet Explorer zones, when you don’t need to functionality. However, do not forget to add the specific URLs when you enable specific functionality like Seamless Single Sign-on and remove specific URLs when you move away from specific functionality.

Further reading

Office 365 URLs and IP address ranges Group Policy – Internet Explorer Security Zones Add Site to Local Intranet Zone Group Policy

Posted on October 15, 2019 by Sander Berkouwer in Active Directory , Entra ID , Security

5 Responses to HOWTO: Add the required Hybrid Identity URLs to the Local Intranet list of Internet Explorer and Edge

If you use the GPO methode (S2ZAL) the zone get's 'locked' so the user cannot add url's to the zone himself. If you want them to allow this ( yeah i know this shoudln't be 🙂 ) you can use a reg import with GPO Preferences instead.

Yes, indeed you can.

Very well done and written! I've only just begun writing myself just recently and realized that a lot of blogs merely rework old content but add very little of worth. It's good to see a beneficial post of some true valuue to your readers and I. It is actually going down on the list of things I need to emulate being a nnew blogger. Visitor engagement and content quality are king. Many great ideas; you've unquestionably made it on my list of sites to follow!

Continue the great work!

it's done,work fine,thanks you

Nice detail, well explained. Good work.

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Why is SiteToZoneAssignment GPO applying, but sites not appearing in IE

We have a Windows server 2012 R2 remote desktop farm, which we have applied a GPO to, to control site to zone assignments.

This was working fine up until recently, but just lately, we have found that this setting is not applying.

If I toggle ESC on, and then back off on the server I am on, the sites now show up in IE zone list for the currently logged in user. It does not however, seem to apply to all users. That list of sites will then follow them to other servers and that user will be ok moving forward.

We use user profile disks, so the users registry hive is not available on that server unless they are logged in, which might explain why it only occurs for the logged in test user.

EDIT : I can see the registry entries being created under HKCU ZoneMapKey and HKLM ZoneMap.

According to this article, IE should read settings from both of those locations, but they simply do not appear in the site list in IE control panel.

Is it possible that there has been an update for 2012 that has altered some ESC registry setting that causes us this issue?

• group-policy
• windows-server-2012-r2
• internet-explorer
• remote-desktop-services
• windows-update

• Check the zone assignment in the registry, IE ignore esc zone assignment if you have normal zone assignment. –  yagmoth555 ♦ Jul 7, 2016 at 11:59
• I have applied the settings under the computer settings in the policy. If I look in HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMapKey, I can see all of the entries, they just don't show up in IE itself –  James Edmonds Jul 7, 2016 at 13:35
• But ESC is not enabled! –  James Edmonds Jul 7, 2016 at 13:49
• I would try HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_IGNORE_POLICIES_ZONEMAP_IF_ESC_ENABLED_KB918915\ to 1 anyhow, it's for fixing a bug when ZoneMap is done and ESC is on/off. –  yagmoth555 ♦ Jul 7, 2016 at 13:52
• It's tagged for Win2003, but the registry fix work in 2012; support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/918915 , they tell HKLM to fix it for all user, or it work too like you told in HCU –  yagmoth555 ♦ Jul 7, 2016 at 14:11

3 Answers 3

I created a new user account, and when logged on for the first time, it too experienced the same issue with sites not showing in IE, even though the GPO was applied.

I found in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap , there is a key called IEHarden (remembered the name back from my 2003 days with a similar ESC kind of issue). It looks like even though the server has ESC turned off, this key is set to 1. When either deleting, or setting this to 0, the sites immediately appear in internet control panel, and works as expected.

So while I know what is causing the problem, and have enough to fudge a workaround by deleting that key for each user on login, I still don't understand why that key is set to 1, or even exists in the first place (some users who could see the sites already, don't even have that key!). Again I can only come back to an update that has messed with IE ESC in some way.

Now have the full answer;

Two of our 8 session host created profiles with the IEHarden key, while the others did not (these two were setup by our consultants, although after asking them they are clueless).

Seems under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\Install\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap the IEHarden key existed, so was being given to all new profiles created on that server.

Deleted the key from both, and all now back to normal!

Thanks James for posting the info. For anyone who faces this issue the key to look for is:

• Curious about your environment. The OPs info and references solved my related issues. But the key you're describing doesn't exist in my 2012-R2 servers. –  bvj Feb 15, 2018 at 8:14

Besides IEHarden under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap I had in my company also to set IsInstalled at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{A509B1A8-37EF-4b3f-8CFC-4F3A74704073} to dword:00000000 .

These two registry settings did fully resolve the issue for us. Before IEHarden was somehow set after a certain time back to 1.

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Internet Explorer – Define site to zone assignment by GPO

You may want to define an Internet Explorer setting called Security Zone using a group policy.

This settings allows you to assign some specific URL’s to an Internet security zone; each security zone has specific settings such as automatic authentication, Active X control behavior…

So, to define this settings using GPO, you have to open your Group Policy management console, create a new GPO and edit it.

The GPO settings is Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Internet Control Panel\Security Page\Site to Zone Assignment List

When you edit this setting (Site to Zone Assignment List) you have to define the URL and the security zone (using a number from 1 (Intranet) to 4 (Restricted Sites) [2: Trusted Sites, 3: Internet].

BUT, if you are using Internet Explorer 7 or later with this setting configured, your end-users will not be able to add their own URL’s (such as their banking site).

So, if you want to configure site to zone assignment while allowing end-users to add their own URL’s, you must use another setting: Internet Explorer Maintenance .

This settings is User Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Internet Explorer Maintenance\Security\Security Zone and Content Ratings

Open the Security Zone and Content Ratings and choose Import the current security zones and privacy settings

By hitting the Modify Settings button you can assign the URL to the Security Zone you want to use as well as the security configuration (user authentication, Active X…).

This time, your Site to Zone configuration is deployed to your end users while you’re allowing them to add their own URL too.

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Troubleshoot "Internet Explorer Zonemapping" failures when processing Group Policy

• 4 contributors

When you execute GPUpdate /force , you may see the following output:

When you run GPRESULT /H GPReport.html and examine the report, you see the following information under Component Status :

The System event log contains an event ID 1085 that indicates a Group Policy processing error related to "Internet Explorer ZoneMapping," like the following one:

This event can occur if you enter an invalid entry within the Site To Zone Assignment List policy in the following paths:

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Internet Control Panel\Security Page

User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Internet Control Panel\Security Page

The "Site To Zone Assignment List" policy

The format of the Site To Zone Assignment List policy is described within the policy. This policy setting allows you to manage a list of sites that you want to associate with a particular security zone. These zone numbers have associated security settings that apply to all sites in the zone.

Internet Explorer has four security zones, which are used by this policy setting to associate sites with zones. They're numbered 1 to 4 and defined in descending order of most to least trusted:

• Local Intranet zone
• Trusted Sites zone
• Internet zone
• Restricted Sites zone

The security settings can be set for each of these zones through other policy settings, and their default settings are:

• Trusted Sites zone (Low template)
• Intranet zone (Medium-Low template)
• Internet zone (Medium template)
• Restricted Sites zone (High template)

The Local Machine zone and its locked-down equivalent have special security settings that protect your local computer.

If you enable this policy setting, you can enter a list of sites and their related zone numbers. The association of a site with a zone ensures that the security settings for the specified zone are applied to that site. For each entry that you add to the list, enter the following information:

Valuename : It's used to specify a host for an intranet site, or a fully qualified domain name for other sites. The valuename may also include a specific protocol. For example, if you enter https://www.contoso.com as the valuename , other protocols aren't affected. If you just enter www.contoso.com , all protocols for that site are affected, including http, https, ftp, and so on. The site may also be expressed as an IP address (such as 127.0.0.1) or a range (such as 127.0.0.1-10). To avoid creating conflicting policies, don't include other characters after the domain, such as a trailing slash or URL path. For example, the policy settings for www.contoso.com and www.contoso.com/mail would be treated as the same policy setting by Internet Explorer, and therefore, conflict.

Value : It's the number of the zone you want to associate the site with security settings. The Value of the above Internet Explorer zones is 1 to 4 .

When you enter data in the Group Policy Editor, there's no syntax or logical error checking available. This error checking is performed on the client when the Internet Explorer Zonemapping Group Policy Extension converts the registry into the format used by Internet Explorer. During that conversion, the same methods are implemented when you manually add a site to a specific security zone. If an entry is rejected when you add it manually, the conversion also fails if the Group Policy is used and the event 1085 is issued. For example, when you try to add a wildcard entry to a top-level domain (TLD) (like *.com or *.co.uk ) while adding a site, the wildcard entry is rejected. Now, the question is, which entries are treated as TLDs; by default, the following schemes are treated as TLDs in Internet Explorer:

• Flat domains (such as .com ).
• Two-letter domains in a two-letter TLD (such as .co.uk ).

The following blog post includes a granular explanation of domains:

Understanding Domain Names in Internet Explorer

To identify incorrect entries in the policy, download and run the IEDigest tool. After creating a report and opening it in your web browser, you'll see a Warnings section where incorrect entries are named. These entries need to be removed (or corrected) in the Group Policy. Here's an example of how it looks like when trying to add *.com to a zone:

     Warnings Description Key Name Value Invalid entry in Site to Zone Assignment List. Click here for more info HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMapKey *.com is invalid

More information

• Intranet site is identified as an Internet site when you use an FQDN or an IP address
• Security Zones in Microsoft Edge

Third-party contact disclaimer

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find additional information about this topic. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of third-party contact information.

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Configure Internet Site Zone using Group Policy Preferences

Microsoft Internet Explorer has a built-in security feature that classify sites into four separated zones , namely Internet , Local Intranet , Trusted Sites , and Restricted Sites . Each of these zones has different way of handling site contents . For example, downloading content from sites in Internet zone will prompt a message to the user before it is able to be downloaded, while downloading content from sites in Local Intranet zone can go without any prompt . It is important to configure site zone mapping correctly. In a domain environment, administrator can put less effort to configure internet site zone using Group Policy Preferences .

How to Configure Internet Site Zone using Group Policy Preferences

There are numerous way to configure internet site zone using Group Policy Object , but configuring it this way will disable the user from manually adding sites to a zone . On a dynamic environment, it is best to configure internet site zone using Group Policy Preferences instead, as this way can provide consistency of the site zone mapping without limiting the user ability to add new site zone mapping .

The example below will show how to create Group Policy Preferences to add site www.mustbegeek.com into Trusted Sites zone.

1. Find the setting

Use Group Policy Management console to locate one of these settings below:

• User Configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Registry = With this way, the site zone mapping will follow the user on any computer it is logged in to
• Computer Configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Registry = With this way, the site zone mapping will be applied to any users logged in to the computer

In this example, we want this policy to be applied at the user level so the setting explained in first way will be used.

When the setting has been located, right click on a blank space in the right pane and choose New > Registry Item

2. Create mapping for a site

The registry to be created to map a site into zone will be kept at Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ZoneMap\Domains . It is a little bit complicated as one site will be stored as a key with the site zone as the value, in other words, to store www.mustbegeek.com as a Trusted Sites , we need to append “ \mustbegeek.com\www ” at the end of the above mentioned path. See figure below for example:

On the value name write “ http ” or “ https ” depending on the protocol used by the site, and set the value type as REG_DWORD . Then, fill in the value data with “ 0000002 ” in hexadecimal to indicate that it is in the Trusted Site zone.

3. Repeat the setting for other sites mapping

Repeat step 2 above to make mapping for other sites. Adjust the value data according to the table below to map it into the desired zones:

4. Link the policy and verify the result

Check the policy result on client’s Internet Explorer > Settings > Internet Options > Security tab . For example select Trusted Sites icon and click on Sites button.

The site listed for the selected zone will be displayed.

Site zone mapping configured on Group Policy will be reflected on the Internet Explorer setting once policy is applied. If the policy is not applied as intended, administrator can check into the registry path as above and see if the required keys and values has been created correctly as shown below:

Remember, the command gpupdate /force can be used to force the policy to be refreshed on demand, and the command gpresult /r on the user can be used to verify the policy object has been applied.

And that’s how to configure internet site zone using Group Policy Preferences.

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GPO: Defining sites to local intranet zone - Does it overwrite existing sites defined?

If I want to add a domain to local intranet sites in my entire network of +2000 computers and clients, does using GPO to do it potentially overwrite any existing defined sites on the clients?

We have lots of users who we've defined these local intranet sites manually on each client. And each client is usually a little different from the other one. But now I need to add a site that will apply for the entire network. I really want to avoid doing this manually if possible.

The specific GPO-settings I am asking about is located here:

User Configuration/Policies/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Internet Explorer/Internet Control Panel/Security Page

The object being Site to Zone Assignment List

• group-policy
• windows-domain

Creating that GPO will overwrite users settings and prevent them modifying settings

This may help you https://blog.thesysadmins.co.uk/group-policy-internet-explorer-security-zones.html

• Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. –  MMM Jan 15, 2020 at 14:22

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