2. Adding trusted sites to Internet Explorer
Although Internet Explorer 10 contains a number of features intended
to protect users from Internet-based threats delivered through the web,
these protections can sometimes get in the way of productivity. In
these cases, administrators can just add a website to the Internet
Explorer list of trusted sites. By doing so, you enable the user to
access the trusted site without interference from many of the Internet
Explorer security measures.
To add a site to the Trusted Sites list, complete the following steps:
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Open Internet Explorer from the desktop.
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In Tools, select Internet Options and choose the Security tab.
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On the Security tab, choose the Trusted Sites zone, and then click Sites (see Figure 2).
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In the Trusted Sites dialog box, as shown in Figure 3, make sure that the address of the website you want to add is the one that appears in the Add This Website To The Zone box.
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If the site is using HTTP rather than HTTPS, clear the Require
Server Verification (https:) For All Sites In This Zone check box.
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Click the Add button next to the website URL and then click OK to return to the Internet Explorer page.
3. Managing Internet Explorer security settings by using Group Policy
A number of Group Policy items have to do with Internet Explorer
security. Group Policy makes it easier to manage Internet Explorer
settings across the organization.
Enabling Enhanced Protected Mode by using Group Policy
Rather than manually configuring Internet Explorer on each individual computer to use Enhanced Protected Mode, you can configure the following Group Policy settings:
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Policy name Turn on Enhanced Protected Mode.
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Policy path Windows Components, Internet Explorer, Internet Control Panel, Advanced Page.
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Policy description
Enhanced Protected Mode provides additional protection against
malicious websites by using 64-bit processes on 64-bit versions of
Windows. For computers running Windows 8, Enhanced Protected Mode also
limits the locations Internet Explorer can read from in the registry
and the file system.
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Enabled If you
enable this policy setting, Enhanced Protected Mode is turned on. Any
zone that has Protected Mode enabled will use Enhanced Protected Mode.
Users cannot disable Enhanced Protected Mode.
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Disabled If you
disable this policy setting, Enhanced Protected Mode is turned off. Any
zone that has Protected Mode enabled will use the version of Protected
Mode introduced in Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista.
-
Not Configured If
you do not configure this policy, users can turn on or turn off
Enhanced Protected Mode on the Advanced tab of the Internet Options
dialog box.
For years, security professionals have asked users to be wary of people watching them as they type their passwords.
In Windows 8, a new feature places a little eyeball in password fields.
When this eyeball is clicked, the plaintext password is displayed,
which might be considered a major security issue. The following Group
Policy disables this feature.
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Policy name Do not display the Reveal Password button.
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Policy path The path is Windows Components, Internet Explorer, Security Features.
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Policy Description
This policy setting enables you to hide the Reveal Password button when
Internet Explorer prompts users for a password. The Reveal Password
button is displayed during password entry. When the user clicks the
button, the current password value is visible until the mouse button is
released (or until the tap ends).
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Enabled If you
enable this policy setting, the Reveal Password button will be hidden
for all password fields. Users and developers will not be able to
depend on the Reveal Password button being displayed in any web form or
web application.
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Disabled Or Not Configured
If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, the Reveal
Password button can be shown by the application as a user types a
password. The Reveal Password button is visible by default.
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Notes In Windows
8, if the Do Not Display The Reveal Password Button policy setting
located in Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows
Components\Credential User Interface is enabled for the system, it will
override this policy setting.
