I can't download anything in the browser on my Windows VPS

What this is#

You RDP into a fresh Windows Server, open the browser to grab an installer, and every download and half the web is blocked with security prompts. That's IE Enhanced Security Configuration (IE ESC), a lockdown Windows Server ships on by default, on the theory that servers shouldn't browse the web. The theory is sound; the first-day experience is maddening. Two ways forward.

Option 1: turn IE ESC off (for administrators)#

1. Open Server Manager (it usually greets you at logon).
2. Click Local Server in the left pane.
3. Find IE Enhanced Security Configuration on the right, click its On link.
4. Set Administrators: Off (leave it On for Users), OK, and reopen the browser.

Downloads work now. The security posture is fine, the real protection on a server is not browsing casually on it at all, download what you administer, and do your surfing on your own computer.

Option 2 (the better habit): install software without the browser#

Server admins mostly skip the browser entirely, from PowerShell:

• winget, Microsoft's package manager (included on recent Server versions; try winget --version): winget install Google.Chrome, done. Thousands of packages, upgrades with winget upgrade --all.
• Chocolatey, the veteran community package manager, works on every Server version: install it with the one-liner from their site, then choco install googlechrome firefox 7zip and friends. Great for scripting a server's whole toolkit.
• Direct download in PowerShell, for a single file with a known URL:

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://example.com/tool.msi" -OutFile "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\tool.msi"

Package managers also fix the next problem, updates: choco upgrade all or winget upgrade --all keeps the third-party software patched, which matters on a server as much as Windows Update does.

Still need help?#

You can open a support ticket. So we can help on the first reply, it's worth mentioning:

• the VPS hostname or IP,
• what you're trying to download or install,
• whether you've turned IE ESC off, and what still blocks.

Related questions#

• "Why can't I download files on Windows Server?"
• "How do I turn off IE Enhanced Security Configuration?"
• "How do I disable Internet Explorer Enhanced Security (Extended Protection) on Windows Server?"
• "How do I install Chrome on my Windows VPS?"
• "Does winget work on Windows Server?"
• "How do I install software from PowerShell?"