Skip to content
Setup FoundrySetup Foundry
DESign in

Documentation

Check for signatures on downloaded programs

This Internet Explorer policy controls whether digital signatures on executable programs are checked before download.

since 0.9.8.11

Purpose

Show registry keys (2)
  • HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Download\CheckExeSignatures
  • HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Download\CheckExeSignatures

This Internet Explorer policy controls whether digital signatures on executable programs are checked before download. A valid digital signature can identify the software publisher and indicate whether the signed file has been altered after signing.

When the policy is enabled, Internet Explorer checks the digital signatures of executable programs and displays the identified publishers before downloading the programs. When the policy is disabled or not configured, Internet Explorer does not perform this check or display those identities.

Notes

Security

Signature checking provides information about the origin and integrity of signed programs. Without the check, users downloading executables through Internet Explorer do not receive the corresponding publisher identity, potentially making tampered or untrustworthily signed programs harder to recognize.

This policy does not itself block a program from being downloaded or executed, and it is not a malware scan. Whether software with an invalid signature may be installed or run is governed by a separate Internet Explorer policy.

Notes

CheckExeSignatures is an inetres.admx-backed policy setting available in both computer and user configuration. The value under HKLM represents device scope, while the value under HKCU represents user scope.

This setting applies to Internet Explorer and is not a download policy for standard Microsoft Edge browsing. The Internet Explorer 11 desktop application is unsupported or disabled on certain Windows versions; Microsoft directs organizations with legacy web-app dependencies to Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge.

Microsoft documentation

Microsoft Learn: InternetExplorer Policy CSP – CheckSignaturesOnDownloadedPrograms

Microsoft Learn: Internet Explorer 11 lifecycle

See also