I'm running a network application that all users access from a shared location on Windows 11. Each user has a shortcut on their desktop pointing to \\myserver\somefolder\myapp.exe, which launches fine. However, after about a minute, an 'Open File – Security Warning' pops up for \\myserver.domain.local\somefolder\otherapp.exe, stating 'This file is in a location outside of your local network.' I've configured our GPO settings to set various paths, including *.domain.local, to zone 1 in the Internet Explorer security settings, but I'm still encountering this issue. Changing it to zone 2 didn't help either, and I don't want to mark executable files as low risk. Any suggestions on how to resolve this popup?
2 Answers
You're right to focus on the trusted zones in Internet Explorer. We had a similar hiccup, and adding only our domain name (like "ourdomain.com") to zone 1 worked without any wildcards. Make sure the policy is at the machine level for more stability.
It sounds like the executable might have been flagged as insecure even if it wasn't downloaded from the internet. To fix this, try accessing the server directly (not through a client). Right-click on the .exe file, go to Properties, and look for an 'Unlock' button or checkbox. If you see it, click to unlock, apply changes, and it should resolve the warning.
The issue is, the file came from an ERP/SAP application and there’s no unlock checkbox available. I think it gets set up in a way that takes it out of my direct control.
Gotcha. I had a similar problem before, but I managed to fix it by adjusting the deeper settings in GPO that were overriding zone settings. It took some digging!
Great idea! I tested with a fresh OS in a new OU without any GPOs, and it acted consistently. After building a specific GPO for the unc settings, it all functioned well until adding in some of the production GPOs. It turns out I had an unnecessary setting at the user level that messed things up. Appreciate your help!