Disabling "Allow Third-Party Browser Extensions" Group Policy will Prevent Web Redirection from Working in MED-V 1.0

Here's an interesting issue that you may run into when trying to use redirection with MED-V 1.0.  You may find that you are unable to get web redirection working inside a MED-V Workspace from either host-to-guest or guest-to-host.

This can happen if the Group Policy "Allow third-party browser extensions" is enabled in your environment.  So how does that cause web redirection to fail?  Web redirection depends on a Browser Helper Object (KIDAROBHO.DLL) that is used by both the host and guest instances of Internet Explorer (versions 6 and up) and if the "Allow third-party browser extensions" policy is enabled then it will prevent that Browser Helper Object from loading.

This is a known issue for MED-V 1.0 and MED-V 1.0 SP1. This setting has to be enabled currently in order for MED-V web redirection to work properly.

This policy is configured in the following location:

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Internet Control Panel\Advanced Page\Allow third-party browser extensions

It's also stored in the registry at the following location:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

Value: Enable Browser Extensions 

Note: This policy setting allows you to manage whether Internet Explorer will launch COM add-ons known as browser helper objects, such as toolbars. Browser helper objects may contain flaws such as buffer overruns which impact Internet Explorer's performance or stability. If you enable this policy setting, Internet Explorer automatically launches any browser helper objects that are installed on the user's computer. If you disable this policy setting, browser helper objects do not launch. If you do not configure this policy, Internet Explorer automatically launches any browser helper objects that are installed on the user's computer.

Hope this helps,

Steve Thomas | Senior Support Escalation Engineer