How to Disable Protected Mode in Internet Explorer

Steps to Disable Protected Mode in IE 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11

By
Tim Fisher
Photo of Tim Fisher, Lifewire GM and Writer
Tim Fisher
Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability
  • Emporia State University

Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the SVP and General Manager of Lifewire.

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Updated on June 16, 2022

What to Know

  • In Internet Explorer, select Tools > Internet options > Security tab > uncheck Enable Protected Mode > OK.
  • If you're looking for a more advanced way to disable Protected Mode, use the Windows Registry.

This article explains how to disable Protected Mode in Internet Explorer through the browser and through the Windows Registry. Steps apply to Internet Explorer versions 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, when installed on Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, or Windows Vista.

Microsoft no longer supports Internet Explorer and recommends that you update to the newer Edge browser. Head to their site to download the newest version.

Internet Explorer Method

To disable Protected Mode in Internet Explorer:

  1. Open Internet Explorer.

    Internet Explorer button in Windows 10 Start menu

    Protected Mode helps prevents malicious software from exploiting vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, protecting your computer from the most common ways that hackers can gain access to your system.

  2. From the command bar, go to Tools > Internet options.

    Tools button and Internet options menu item in Windows 10 Internet Explorer

    In Internet Explorer 9, 10, and 11, the Tools menu reveals when you press the Alt key once. See What Version of Internet Explorer Do I Have? if you're not sure.

  3. Select the Security tab.

  4. In the bottom half of this window, directly above the several buttons you see, uncheck Enable Protected Mode, and then select OK.

    Security tab, Enable Protected Mode button, and OK button in WIndows 10 Internet Explorer Internet Options window

    This will require a restart of Internet Explorer, as you may have seen next to the checkbox in this step.

  5. Choose OK if you're prompted with a Warning! dialog box, advising that The current security settings will put your computer at risk.

  6. Close Internet Explorer and then open it again. You can verify that Protected Mode is truly disabled by checking the setting again, but there should also be a brief message at the bottom of Internet Explorer saying it's turned off.

Verify that Protected Mode is truly disabled by checking the setting again, but there should also be a brief message at the bottom of Internet Explorer that says it's turned off.

Try again to visit the websites that were causing your problems to see if resetting the Internet Explorer security settings on your computer helped.

As important as Protected Mode is, it's been known to cause problems in specific situations, so disabling it might be beneficial in troubleshooting certain scenarios. However, don't disable it unless you have reason to believe it's causing a major problem in Internet Explorer. If it's otherwise behaving normally, it's safest to keep it enabled.

Windows Registry Method

An advanced way to disable Protected Mode in Internet Explorer is through the Windows Registry.

  1. Open Registry Editor.

    Run menu in Windows 10 with "regedit" command typed in it

  2. Use the folders on the left to open the following key within the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive:

    \Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\

  3. In the Internet Settings key, open the Zones subkey and then open the numbered folder that corresponds to the zone that you want to disable Protected Mode in.

    • 0: Local computer
    • 1: Intranet
    • 2: Trusted sites
    • 3: Internet
    • 4: Restricted sites

  4. Create a new REG_DWORD value called 2500 within the zone.

    Registry Editor in Windows 10 open to Internet Settings, Zone 1, with document 2500 highlighted

  5. Open the new value and set it as 3 to disable Protected Mode (0 enables it).

    Windows 10 registry DWORD value for disabling IE protected mode

See this Super User thread on managing Protected Mode settings in the registry for more information.

More Information About IE Protected Mode

  1. Protected Mode isn't available with Internet Explorer installed on Windows XP. Windows Vista is the earliest operating system that supports it.

  2. There are other ways to open Internet Options. One is with Control Panel, but an even quicker method is through a Command Prompt or the Run dialog box, using the inetcpl.cpl command.

    Another is through Internet Explorer's menu button at the top right of the program (which you can trigger with the Alt+X keyboard shortcut).

  3. You should always keep software like Internet Explorer updated. See How to Update Internet Explorer if you need help.

  4. Protected Mode is disabled by default only in the Trusted sites and Local intranet zones, which is why you have to manually uncheck the Enable Protected Mode checkbox in the Internet and Restricted sites zones.

  5. Some versions of Internet Explorer on some versions of Windows can use what's called Enhanced Protected Mode. This is also found in the Internet Options window, but under the Advanced tab. If you enable Enhanced Protected Mode, you have to restart your computer for it to take effect.

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