18.9.66.1 Ensure 'Prevent downloading of enclosures' is set to 'Enabled'

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Information

This policy setting prevents the user from having enclosures (file attachments) downloaded from an RSS feed to the user's computer.

The recommended state for this setting is: Enabled.

Rationale:

Allowing attachments to be downloaded through the RSS feed can introduce files that could have malicious intent.

Impact:

Users cannot set the Feed Sync Engine to download an enclosure through the Feed property page. Developers cannot change the download setting through feed APIs.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to Enabled:

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\RSS Feeds\Prevent downloading of enclosures

Note: This Group Policy path is provided by the Group Policy template InetRes.admx/adml that is included with all versions of the Microsoft Windows Administrative Templates.

Note #2: In older Microsoft Windows Administrative Templates, this setting was named Turn off downloading of enclosures, but it was renamed starting with the Windows 8.0 & Server 2012 (non-R2) Administrative Templates.

Default Value:

Disabled. (Users can set the Feed Sync Engine to download an enclosure through the Feed property page. Developers can change the download setting through the Feed APIs.)

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/3714