Posted by Harlan Messinger on 07/25/06 14:39

TC wrote:
> Harlan Messinger wrote:
>> TC wrote:
>
>>> In days gone by, the Local zone had *less*
>>> restrictions than the Internet zone. So local files were *more capable*
>>> than remote ones. Now days, the Local zone has *more* restrictions than
>>> the Internet zone, so local files are (by default) *less* capable than
>>> remote ones.
>> Oh? I've observed the opposite, and this would make no sense, the whole
>> point being that you trust your own resources more than you trust other
>> people's.
>
> No, I believe that I'm right. Check the link Ed Mullen posted. "The
> role of the MOTW is more prominent with Internet Explorer 6 for
> Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) because of increased security
> restrictions in the Local Machine zone. When you are developing Web
> content, the MOTW enables you to test your active HTML documents in the
> security zone where you intend the pages to run" [instead of in the
> increased security restrictions of the Local Machine zone]

The clearer explanation is at the bottom: "Because the Local Machine
zone has so few security restrictions, active HTML documents running on
the local machine have access to the computer's entire file system. The
MOTW aids Internet Explorer in protecting the user from the risks of
running these documents in the Local Machine zone. By referencing the
MOTW, Internet Explorer can force these Web pages into a zone that has
more restrictions, such as the Internet zone. At the same time, the MOTW
cannot be used to elevate Web pages to a zone with fewer restrictions.
Forced out of the Local Machine zone, the active content has no access
to the computer's file system."

It moves the files *into* the Internet zone = "zone that has more
restrictions", because otherwise they'd be treated as Local Machine
files with few restrictions.

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