"This file originated from an internet location" - How to mark this file as local and safe?

Right click the file and select Properties, and on the first page there is a button saying "Unblock."

You can also add the domain name of where you got the file from to your Trusted Sites list in the Internet Options control panel.

Try going in the Trust Center, check the box marked Allow Trusted Locations on my network. Then add the location where the file is by clicking Add new location....

If there is no "Unblock" button on the file properties dialog, you can try this hack.

Copy the file onto any FAT32 disk drive, for example a USB key (only, be sure it is really formatted as FAT32).

Then copy the file back whence it came. You will be prompted to replace the file with one which is identical. Say yes.

This little sleight of hand will remove the invisible Alternate Data Stream block hidden in the MFT, where the Zone Identifier is stored. Lo and behold, the file now appears to be local and is trusted.

Another possibility would be to copy the file using something dumb and different from the Windows CopyFile function, that will copy only visible data. So, for example, you can also

• ZIP the file (using a non-ADS-aware zip) and unzip it in place;
• run TYPE FILE > z; DEL FILE; REN z FILE from the command line if the file is ASCII text or HTML (TYPE doesn't deal well with binary files, which will be likely corrupted);
• for non-HTML files: open them with a browser. You will be prompted to "download" the file. Do so. The file has been downloaded from a local site and should be therefore trusted. Move the file from the download folder to the original one.