Understanding Zones

To provide optimal security for untrusted Web sites while allowing elevated privileges for trusted Web sites, Internet Explorer provides multiple security zones:

• Internet All Web sites that are not listed in the trusted or restricted zones. Sites in this zone are restricted from viewing private information on your computer (including cookies or temporary files from other Web sites) and cannot make permanent changes to your computer.
• Local Intranet Web sites on your intranet. Internet Explorer can detect automatically whether a Web site is on your intranet. Additionally, you can add Web sites manually to this zone.
• Trusted Sites Web sites that administrators have added to the Trusted Sites list because they require elevated privileges. Trusted Sites do not use Protected Mode, which could introduce security weaknesses. Therefore, you need to select the Web sites added to the Trusted Sites zone carefully. You don't need to add all sites you trust to this zone; instead, you should add only sites that you trust and that cannot work properly in the Internet or intranet zones. By default, this zone is empty.
• Restricted Sites Web sites that might be malicious and should be restricted from performing any potentially dangerous actions. You need to use this zone only if you plan to visit a potentially malicious Web site and you need to minimize the risk of a security compromise. By default, this zone is empty.

Note When moving from a trusted site to an untrusted site or vice versa, Internet Explorer warns the user and opens a new window. This reduces the risk of users accidentally trusting a malicious site.