Despite spending 10-16 hours a day in Windows it some how manages to surprise me every now and then. I recently downloaded some software onto a box running Windows Server 2003 and when I went to extract the zip file I got the following error:

Windows has blocked access to these files to help protect your computer

Puzzled, I tried again, and got the same error. I knew it wasn’t a virus scanner blocking it, since the zip I was trying to extract was the virus scanning utility that I was trying to install. I found this very ironic, despite how frustrating it was. After a few minutes of research I discovered that it was a very simple fix.

• Right Click the file in question
• Click Properties
• Click Unblock

Problem solved!