In Windows, using Internet Explorer, how can I fix errors about files being outside my intranet?

Windows and Internet Explorer use the concept of security zones to provide different levels of security for different network locations. The built-in zones are Internet, Local Intranet, Trusted Sites, and Restricted Sites. You can apply these zones to web sites, mapped network drives, and Microsoft Office FTP locations. Generally, any time you use an IP address or a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) to access a server or share on your network, it will be interpreted as an Internet site and therefore a site outside your intranet.

In many situations at Indiana University, you may need to use an IP address or an FQDN to reach another IU network resource. Even though you haven't really left the IU network, Windows may consider that you have. For example, you might receive the following error if you attempted to open an Access file from a network drive that you've mapped using an FQDN:

Microsoft Access cannot open this file. This file is located outside your Intranet or on an untrusted site. Microsoft Access will not open the file due to potential security problems. To open the file, copy it to your computer or an accessible network location.

To fix this:

1. In Internet Explorer, from the Tools menu, select Internet Options... .
   
   
2. Under the Security tab, click Local intranet, and then click Sites... .
   
   
3. Click Advanced... . In the "Add this Web site to the zone:" box, type *.domain.com (where domain.com is your company's top-level domain name) or an IP address range (for example, 157.54.100-200.*). At IU, add both *.iu.edu and *.ucs.indiana.edu . Your campus or department may have additional domains or IP address ranges to add as well.
   
   
4. Click Add, and then click Close or OK to close all the dialog boxes.
   
   
5. Reboot your computer. (This step may not be necessary for the change to take effect, depending on your version of Windows and Internet Explorer.)

For more information about this error, see article 303650 at the Microsoft Help and Support web site.

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