By default, Windows Server 2003 and 2008 ship with Internet Explorer in Enhanced Security configuration, which is basically a locked down version that adds a bit of extra security to your servers.

However, if you know what you are doing, you might want to disable IE enhanced security configuration to get rid of the annoying messages. In this post, I will walk you through the steps to disable enhanced security for both Windows 2003 and Windows 2008.

Table of Contents

    How to Turn Off IE Enhanced Security Configuration image 1

    Windows Server 2003 Method

    In Windows Server 2003, you can turn off enhanced security for IE by going to Start, Control Panel, and then Add or Remove Programs.

    control panel

    Next, click on Add/Remove Windows Components on the left hand side:

    add remove windows components

    Scroll down to Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration and uncheck the box to turn it off.

    ie enhanced security config

    Windows Server 2008 Method

    In Windows 2008, the process is a little different. First, go to Start, then Administrative Tools and choose Server Manager.

    Under the Security Summary section, click on Configure IE ESC.

    configure ie esc

    A dialog will pop up where you can disable IE ESC for either Administrators or Users. Click Off to turn off IE ESC for whichever group you prefer.

    turn off ie esc

    That’s it! Pretty easy to turn it off, just make sure no one is browsing inappropriate sites that can take down your server! Enjoy!

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *