By default, this zone contains anything that is not on your computer or an intranet, or assigned to any other zone. The default security level for the Internet zone is Medium. You can change your privacy settings for the Internet zone on the Privacy tab in the Internet Options dialog box. Forms from Web sites in this zone are not allowed to access information, forms, or files located on domains outside of the one the form is located on.

This zone typically contains any addresses that don't require a proxy server, as defined by the system administrator. These include sites specified on the Connections tab in the Internet Options dialog box, network paths (such as \\computername\foldername), and local intranet sites (typically addresses that don't contain periods, such as http://internal). You can add sites to this zone. The default security level for the local intranet zone is Medium. Therefore, Internet Explorer will allow all forms with ActiveX controls from Web sites in this zone to be saved on your computer and read by the Web site that created them. Forms from Web sites in this zone are allowed to access information, forms, or files located on a different domain, but you will be prompted to approve this type of cross-domain access each time it occurs.

This zone contains sites that you believe you can download or run files from without worrying about damage to your computer or data. You can assign sites to this zone. The default security level for the trusted sites zone is Low. Therefore, Internet Explorer will allow all cookies from Web sites in this zone to be saved on your computer and read by the Web site that created them. Forms from Web sites in this zone are allowed to access information, forms, or files located on a different domain; since these forms are trusted, you are not notified before this cross-domain access occurs.

This zone contains sites you don't trust or sites that you're not sure whether you can download or run files from without damage to your computer or data. You can assign sites to this zone. The default security level for the restricted sites zone is High. Therefore, Internet Explorer will block all cookies from Web sites in this zone.

Note  InfoPath cannot open forms located on sites that are in the restricted sites zone, nor can forms access information, forms, or files located on a restricted site.

This zone contains settings for your local computer and cannot be viewed or customized. Any files already on your local computer are assumed to be very safe, so minimal security settings are assigned to them. The settings for this zone are the same as the default settings for the trusted sites zone and allow trusted custom installed forms to have greater access to your files, settings, and system resources. Trusted custom installed forms can also access information, forms, or files on a networked location; since these forms are trusted, you are not notified before this cross-domain access occurs.