Warning: The retired, out-of-support Internet Explorer 11 desktop application has been permanently disabled through a Microsoft Edge update on certain versions of Windows 10. For more information, see Internet Explorer 11 desktop app retirement FAQ.
Symptoms
Assume that you use Internet Explorer 10 on a computer that is running Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012. When you use a symbolic link to run an .exe file or execute a script file, you receive a warning that says the file is untrusted.
For example, consider the following scenario:
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You have an executable Windows PowerShell script file "testscript.ps1" in the c:\temp\textfolder folder.
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In another folder, you make a directory symbolic link for the script file by running the following command:
mklink /d c:\temp2\textfolder c:\temp\textfolder
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You set the PowerShell Execution policy to RemoteSigned.
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You use a symbolic link to execute the script file.
In this scenario, PowerShell considers the script as "remote" and does not execute the script.
Resolution
Security update information
To resolve this issue, install the most recent cumulative security update for Internet Explorer. To do this, go to the following Microsoft website:
http://update.microsoft.com
Notes
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This update was first included in the following security update:
2838727 MS13-047: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer: June 11, 2013
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For more technical information about the most recent cumulative security update for Internet Explorer, go to the following Microsoft websites:
Workaround
If you want to run an .exe file by using a symbolic link, you can do the following to work around this issue:
Important
Follow the steps in this section carefully. Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Before you modify it, back up the registry for restoration in case problems occur.
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Add a REG_DWORD value to the registry key that is named for your application (for example, MyApplication.exe) under the following registry key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_LOCALMACHINE_LOCKDOWN
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Set the REG_DWORD value to 1.
If you want to execute a PowerShell script file, you can set the execution policy for each script to work around this issue. For example, run the following command to set the execution policy for the PowerShell script file:
PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "c:\folder\subfolder\script.ps1"
More Information
For more information about symbolic links, go to the following Microsoft websites:
General information about symbolic linking
General information about MklinkFor more information about software update terminology, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates
Status
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.
