ActiveX Filtering is disabled by default but can be enabled by clicking on Tools > Safety > ActiveX Filtering. One of the easiest ways to find out that it is indeed the ActiveX Filtering that is repsonsible for broken contents is to enable ActiveX Filtering and visit Youtube. Youtube will notify the user that it is necessary to upgrade to Adobe Flash Player to watch the video. Users who disable ActiveX Filtering can watch the video without following that advice.

Many websites have suggested to disable ActiveX Filtering completely to be able to play games and watch videos again. That however is not the best solution available. While it is working it eliminates the added protection of the security module in Internet Explorer.

How to fix Java and Flash contents in Internet Explorer 9 with ActiveX Filtering enabled

Open Tools > Internet Options and switch to the Security tab there.

Internet Explorer supports four different zones each with their own distinctive security settings. All websites that are not locally accessible are using the security settings of the Internet zone, unless they have been added to Trusted Sites or Restricted Sites.

Trusted sites use less strict security rules by default while restricted sites highly restricted rules.

The idea now is to add the sites that you want to play Flash or Java contents on to the trusted sites. That alone however is not enough as it is necessary to make one small configuration change. Take a look how this is done for Youtube:

Select Trusted Sites from the available zones and click on the Sites button afterwards. This opens a new window with options to add or remove sites from the Trusted sites zone.

All you need to do is to enter youtube.com in the “Add this website to the zone” form, uncheck “Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone” and click on the Add button.

You do that for all sites that you access that make use of Flash, Java or other third party technologies that are added as plugins to Internet Explorer 9.

Once you are done click the close button.

Locate the custom level button and click it.

Scroll down until you find the entry Allow ActiveX Filtering under ActiveX controls and plug-ins. Note that it is enabled by default. All you need to do is to change the parameter to disable and click the ok button to save the new setting.

All Java, Flash and other third party plugin contents are from that moment on playing as usual on all sites that have been added to the Trusted Sites Zone.

And that’s it. It may happen that you stumble upon a new site that is not working properly. Just add it to the trusted sites listing to make it work as well. But be cautious with the sites that you add there as they are having more rights than standard Internet websites that use the standard Internet zone.

One option to change that is to change the custom level of the Trusted sites zone to the default medium-high which can be done in the settings of the zone. Make sure to disable ActiveX Filtering afterwards. That way you use the same security except for the ActiveX Filtering.

The following guide explains how to make changes to the security zones in Internet Explorer to improve the security on the Internet.

Internet Explorer uses different settings for each of its four security zones. The Internet zone is the standard zone. The settings of this zone are used unless the sites are listed in the trusted sites or restricted sites zones, or if the website is hosted on the local Intranet.

internet options

The general idea is the following: Increase the security level of the Internet zone, and add trusted websites and services that require scripts that are blocked in that zone to the trusted sites listing so that they execute normally.

The Internet Options can be opened in Internet Explorer by clicking on Tools > Internet Options. They are also available in the Windows Control Panel under the Network and Internet category (in Windows 7, might differ slightly in other Microsoft operating systems).

The Security tab lists the four zones and their security levels. Start by changing the slider of the Internet zone to high. You may need to click on Default level first before the slide is shown. High ensures maximum safeguards and that some features are disabled.

Setting the slider to high will break some sites or features on sites. JavaScript is for instance deactivated by default, that’s fine most of the time but problematic if JavaScript is needed to access a site’s functionality.

Adding those sites to the list of Trusted Sites in the Internet Options of Internet Explorer ensures that all their contents and features can be used just like before. The standard security level of the trusted zone is set to Medium.

To add sites to the Trusted sites click on the Trusted Sites icon in the security tab and the on the Sites button.

trusted sites

Standard websites can only be added if the checkmark is removed from “Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone. Internet Explorer will automatically suggest the site in the active tab for inclusion, other sites can be entered manually.

The settings can be tested immediately. Trusted sites are indicated in the status bar of the web browser.

Advanced users can select a custom security level for both the Internet zone and the Trusted sites zone.

security settings

This does require knowledge of web technologies or research to find out what a specific setting does. It is for example possible to increase the security of the trusted sites zone as well, by disabling features that are not needed.

Do you have other Internet Explorer security tips? Let us know in the comments.

You would for instance add websites like that of your bank, insurance company or even shopping sites like eBay or Amazon to the list of trusted websites while untrusted websites like Altavista would land in the untrusted sites list. The list grows quite a bit if you make use of that feature and primarily use Internet Explorer when surfing the Internet.

It would be quite redundant to add all websites again if you purchase a new computer, be it a new desktop computer or notebook. A far better solution – besides making the switch to Opera or Firefox – would be to export the zone settings and import them again in the new computer.

All domains are stored in the Registry and what you need to do is export the Registry key from the old computer and import it at the new one. Sounds easy right ? Start by opening your Registry Editor. I do it by using the shortcut Windows R, entering regedit and hitting enter.

Navigate to the Registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER \Software \Microsoft \Windows \CurrentVersion \Internet Settings \ZoneMap \Domains and right-click the key Domains. Select Export from the menu and save it to your hard drive. Copy the saved file to the new computer and double-click it there to add it to the Registry. Et voila, you are done.