If you change Internet security settings in IE, the following registry key is rewritten: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\3 If you directly edit the values of this key however, the settings in IE are not effective until you close and open the browser; open browser windows are not effected. Other keys like HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl (for settings for searching from the Address Bar) when edited effect settings in all open browser windows. Just edit the key and the settings take effect immediately. No need to open and close the browser. Can anyone explain this? I am trying to develop a simple way to toggle different levels of Internet security settings with a minimum of mouseclicks or keyboard input.

you can write a program that runs in the background all the time and everytime you visit a site, this program can pickup the URL and make the changes in the registry and meet your security levels. if you go to www.mvps.org and search for editing register, you can find VB code that'll show you how to do that hope this helps