How To Allow "Blocked Content" on Internet Explorer

Microsoft, as a matter of policy, sets Internet Explorer's (IE) default security options to protect users from "active content." Unfortunately, it's hard to find a web page these days that does NOT contain active content. It remains a mystery why Microsoft does not know this.

The problem usually appears for any web page you have ever "saved" on your own computer, but it can happen under other conditions as well. When it does, the following message appears:

The most maddening aspect is that IE does not remember your selections. You must re-confirm that you wish to view active content every time you display the same page. Needless to say, this approach does not work very well.

Here's how to fix the problem and allow blocked content:

From Internet Explorer, select the Tools menu, then Options.
In the Internet Options dialog, select the Advanced tab.
Scroll down until you see the "Security" options.
Enable the checkbox: "Allow active content to run in files on My Computer"
Close the dialog, and quit Internet Explorer. The changes will take effect the next time you start IE, although to be certain, you should reboot your computer before restarting IE.

Note: The Blocked Content option is a security feature of Windows XP Service Pack 2. If you do not have SP2 installed, you will never see this message. However, there are other bug fixes in SP2 you should have, so we recommend installing SP2 regardless.

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