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If you've never seen this problem, consider yourself lucky. I think this is an error more of us will see. What happens is if you try to submit a web page that has form data or use a program that sends data to another site, you can encounter this error dialog.

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This problem first appeared for me in Firefox where rather than getting an error message, the page refreshed. I was trying to enter a CAPTCHA code to access an online tool. Each time I entered the code and clicked Submit, the page would refreshed and I needed to enter another code. I was starting to think I was part of some experiment or practical joke.

In most cases I have a fair amount of tolerance, but not that day. I switched to Internet Explorer and did the same exercise. Instead of the web page refreshing, it gave me that wonderful error message, Your current security settings do not allow you to send HTML forms. Well, what settings?

Questions to Consider

There are a two key questions that can help you decide which solution to try first

1. Have you ever been able to send data from this web page with Internet Explorer?

If the answer is yes, try Solution 1 first.

2. Have you ever been able to send HTML form data from any site using Internet Explorer?

If you know you have been able to send HTML form info, try Solution 2 first.

Solution 1: Enabling nonencrypted form data

1. Open Internet Explorer

2. From the Tools menu, select Internet Options

3. Click the Security tab at the top.

4. On the Internet Options dialog, click the Custom Level button

5. On the Security Settings dialog, scroll down to the Submit nonencrypted form data.

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6. Click the Enable radio button.

7. Click OK.

8. Click OK.

Solution 2: Checking Restricted Sites

In my case, I had the correct options on the Security Setting dialog. I also had been able to send HTML form data before. That made me think there was something about this website that was a factor.

In many cases, the reason you're getting the HTML forms error is that you're trying access a site in the browser's restricted zone. Internet Explorer has a specific restricted zone where you place sites you don't want users to access.

In most situations, you know the name of the website you're trying to access. This error can also display if you have a program that sends registration data. I recently had an application that showed this error. The registration data was going to aweber.com and yet the software publisher was another company.

Removing a site from the restricted zone is easy. Before doing so, you should evaluate the site. Is this a site that you know? If you don't know the site, I would first query some service like SiteAdvisor.

To remove a web site from the Restricted Zone in Internet Explorer,

1. Open Internet Explorer

2. From the Tools menu, select Internet Options

3. Click the Security tab.

4. In the Select a Web content zone section, click the red icon for Restricted sites.

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5. Click the Sites button

6. Scroll down through the sites till you find your site. The list is generally in alphabetical order

7. Highlight your site.

8. Click the Remove button on the right.

9. Click OK.

10. Click OK.

How Sites Get in the Restricted Zone

One question that arises is how the site got listed in the restricted zone. Many people state they never entered the site in the zone. Some people are amazed to see so many restricted sties and how some sites look like common ones.

My guess is the sites were probably added by a security program you're using such as one to prevent spyware. The intent is to prevent you from accessing sites that the vendor deems harmful. And if you look closely at the spelling of those common sites, you'll note many are intentional misspellings.

If the sites were added by a 3^rd party program, you might want to check other browsers like Firefox. The sites may be listed on the Cookies tab as an exception.

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Listing Sites in the IE Restricted Zone

After going through this process you may decide you want to see all the restricted sites in Internet Explorer. If you have thousands of sites, this can be awkward scrolling through the list. Instead, I would recommend a utility called Export Zone. The program will export any zone and open the list in Notepad where you can view the contents. The list makes it much easier to view your entries and find problem.

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