Ignore 'Security Warning' running script from command line

Question

I am trying to execute a script from shared folder that I trust:

PowerShell -file "\\server\scripts\my.ps1"

But I get a security warning, and have to press 'R' to continue

Security Warning Run only scripts that you trust. While scripts from the Internet can be useful, this script can potentially harm your computer. Do you want to run \server\scripts\my.ps1? [D] Do not run [R] Run once [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "D"): d

Can I ignore this warning? The desired pseudo code I want is:

PowerShell -IGNORE_SECURITY_WARNING -file "\\server\scripts\my.ps1"

score 92 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 02 '15 at 17:35

92

This is touched in "PowerShell Execution Policies in Standard Images" on Lee Holmes' Blog and "PowerShell’s Security Guiding Principles" on the Windows Power Shell Blog .

Summary Some machines treat UNC paths as the big bad internet, so PowerShell treats them as remote files. You can either disable this feature on those servers (UncAsIntranet = 0,) or add the remote machines to your trusted hosts.

If you want to do neither, PowerShell v2 supports an -ExecutionPolicy parameter that does exactly what your pseudocode wants. PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File (...).

edited Dec 02 '15 at 17:35

Markus W Mahlberg

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answered Apr 08 '09 at 02:48

LeeHolmes

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Thank you! -ExecutionPolicy Bypass is exactly what I was looking for. – alex2k8 Apr 08 '09 at 09:26
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@LeeHomes I was looking for something else but `-ExecutionPolicy ByPass` fixed my problem. You saved me lot of googling and time. Thanks – Suhas Oct 16 '13 at 13:23
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Just to clarify - "add to trusted hosts" means in the system's internet options, available via control panel or in internet explorer. The name appears to be a string match. my share name is `\\foo-files`. Adding the name `foo-files.example.com` to trusted hosts did not work, i had to just add the name `foo-files`. – Dan Pritts Apr 30 '14 at 16:27
Re: `-ExecutionPolicy` This command only whitelists the script for the instance in which it's being run, offering no help to those running scripts usign the "Run" button in PowerShell ISE. Is there a way to globally trust this file that 1. Is persistent -- and -- 2. Doesn't involved executing the script. Futher caution... Changing the Local Intranet zone and/or Trusted Zones on a domain can have unintended side-effects on websites which rely on specific browser features to work. For example, ActiveX, http and ws traffic can be unobviously blocked depending on the origin vs. zone. – tresf Dec 05 '16 at 19:37
where do I put this UncAsIntranet? – McVitas May 13 '20 at 10:31

score 53 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 13 '12 at 09:50

53

To avoid warnings, you can:

Set-ExecutionPolicy bypass

answered Apr 13 '12 at 09:50

Alfredo Jiménez

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Warning: This sets ExecutionPolicy on the entire machine, which is a big security risk. @LeeHolmes solution up above sets ExecutionPolicy just for that session, which is a lower risk. – JamesQMurphy Sep 04 '14 at 21:48
I find the security implications to be atrocious however this is the only way I've found to edit a remote file with PowerShell ISE and not have a popup each time the run button is clicked... at least without changing Internet Security settings which -- in the case of the target environment -- would break ActiveX content as well as some poorly-chosen-but-needed cross-domain security settings that only work in the default Local Intranet Zone. – tresf Dec 05 '16 at 19:54

score 48 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 18 '13 at 22:13

48

If you're running into this error from a downloaded powershell script, you can unblock the script this way:

Right-click on the .ps1 file in question, and select Properties
Click Unblock in the file properties
Click OK

answered Sep 18 '13 at 22:13

mopsled

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Thanks!! This worked for me, i was being prompted every launch even with Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted – Choco Smith Dec 09 '13 at 08:52
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At least on my machine, `Unblock-File` does not seem to help with a UNC path as illustrated in the original question nor does the `Unblock` button appear in the file's property dialog. I assume this is because your file is hosted locally `C:\...`, which makes this answer invalid to the original question (albeit helpful to >=28 others) – tresf Dec 05 '16 at 19:40
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Definitely helped for me. Due to limitations in our environment we had to install modules manually (https://stackoverflow.com/a/37488195/74276) then install them on the server (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/developer/module/installing-a-powershell-module?view=powershell-7). Then we found that we had to run "Get-ChildItem | Unblock-File" to unblock all files in the module folder (under the version number folder). – Kirk Liemohn Apr 23 '20 at 12:12

score 16 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 09 '16 at 09:20

16

Just assign 1 to SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS env variable

$env:SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS = 1
Start-Process $msi_file_path /qn -Wait | out-null

answered Feb 09 '16 at 09:20

Jameel Grand

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`Start-Process` doesn't support `-ExecutionPolicy Bypass` so it was failing on an UNC path, even with UAC disabled. But with this trick it works. Upvoting with all my hands. – Laurent Caillette Apr 17 '17 at 09:16
You sir win the night. – ojblass Dec 30 '17 at 02:52
You made my day, seriously this guy deserves a pay raise – Borja Tur Feb 15 '23 at 10:07

score 4 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 07 '16 at 15:52

4

I made this powershell script to unblock all files on a share on my server

Get-ChildItem "\\ServerName\e$\MyDirectory\" -Recurse -File | % {
       Unblock-File -Path $_.FullName
}

answered Oct 07 '16 at 15:52

Peter Veg

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`Unblock-File` did not work in my tests (Windows 10, PowerShell ISE). – tresf Dec 05 '16 at 19:44

score 4 · Answer 6 · answered Apr 08 '09 at 01:09

4

Try this, edit the file with:

notepad foo.ps1:Zone.Identifier

And set 'ZoneId=0'

answered Apr 08 '09 at 01:09

Don Werve

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Or, in V3, `Unblock-File` (though this comment and this answer both have nothing to do with the IO's question) – Ruben Bartelink Aug 03 '12 at 12:21
For some reason, I couldn't see `Unblock-File` even with v4, but the Zone.Identifier workaround did the thing. The file was also created on the host, but still the prompt with the system execution policy 'RemoteSigned'. – LeeM Mar 23 '18 at 08:59

lightwing · Answer 7 · 2016-05-13T14:50:47.550

3

None of this worked in my specific instance. What did was changing to a NetBIOS name from the FQDN.

Instead of:
\\server.domain.net\file.ps1
use:
\\server\file.ps1

Using the name bypasses the "automatically detect intranet network" config in IE.

See Option 1 in the blog here: http://setspn.blogspot.com/2011/05/running-powershell-scripts-from-unc.html

edited May 13 '16 at 14:50

answered May 13 '16 at 14:45

lightwing

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score 2 · Answer 8 · answered Apr 08 '09 at 01:06

2

You want to set the execution policy on your machine using Set-ExecutionPolicy:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

You may want to investigate the various execution policies to see which one is right for you. Take a look at the "help about_signing" for more information.

answered Apr 08 '09 at 01:06

zdan

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That will change the execution policy permanently, which may nor be desired for a one-off use. – Joey Nov 16 '10 at 00:38
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setting ExecutionPolicy to Unrestricted allows network script execution, but does not bypass the prompt. – Yevgeniy Jul 10 '13 at 16:37
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You want to use "bypass" instead of "unrestricted". "Bypass" is even LESS restrictive than "unrestricted" and gets rid of the security prompting. – Warren Stevens Dec 20 '13 at 16:22

score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Apr 08 '09 at 01:10

1

Did you download the script from internet?

Then remove NTFS stream from the file using sysinternal's streams.exe on command line.

cmd> streams.exe .\my.ps1

Now try to run the script again.

answered Apr 08 '09 at 01:10

dance2die

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Or, in V3, `Unblock-File` (though this comment and this answer both have nothing to do with the IO's question) – Ruben Bartelink Aug 03 '12 at 12:20

score 0 · Answer 10 · edited Jul 30 '15 at 08:25

0

Assume that you need to launch ps script from shared folder

copy \\\server\script.ps1 c:\tmp.ps1 /y && PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File c:\tmp.ps1 && del /f c:\tmp.ps1

P.S. Reduce googling)

edited Jul 30 '15 at 08:25

bluish

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answered Dec 31 '14 at 07:19

Alex

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Sapnandu · Answer 11 · 2018-10-16T05:35:24.440

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It is very simple to do, open your PowerShell and write the following command if you have number of ps1 files. here you have to change the path with your path.

PS C:\Users> Get-ChildItem -Path "D:\downlod" -Recurse | Unblock-File

edited Oct 16 '18 at 05:35

answered Oct 15 '18 at 10:14

Sapnandu

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no. The files are not blocked and I still get prompts when I run it from \\tsclient\h via ISE – McVitas May 13 '20 at 10:35

score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Apr 04 '19 at 06:22

0

Try set-executionpolicy "Policyname" -force switch and the warnings pop-up should not come.

answered Apr 04 '19 at 06:22

swapnil

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score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Aug 12 '20 at 12:15

For those who want to access a file from an already loaded PowerShell session, either use Unblock-File to mark the file as safe (though you already need to have set a relaxed execution policy like Unrestricted for this to work), or change the execution policy just for the current PowerShell session:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process

score 0 · Answer 14 · answered Mar 22 '23 at 15:10

0

For my part, I was running my script by a command, and was accessing it by an alias name. Just changing the alias by the real path ("\\ServerName\" -> "C:\") in my command worked for me, since it is considered local, and so safe

answered Mar 22 '23 at 15:10

ElTogo2408

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Please use code blocks to make this more readable – snowpeak Apr 01 '23 at 19:44

Ignore 'Security Warning' running script from command line

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