It is called the . What Is the Zone Identifier? Introduced with Windows XP Service Pack 2 and refined in every subsequent version (including Windows 11), the Zone Identifier is an alternate data stream (ADS) —a metadata layer attached to a file without changing its visible content or extension.

| ZoneId | Name | Description | |--------|------|-------------| | 0 | My Computer | Local machine (trusted; rarely set by downloads) | | 1 | Local Intranet | Internal corporate network | | 2 | Trusted Sites | Sites explicitly added to Trusted Sites list | | 3 | Internet | The public web (default for most downloads) | | 4 | Restricted Sites | Potentially dangerous or blocked sites |

When you download a file using most modern browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox), email clients, or instant messengers, Windows automatically writes a marker into this ADS. The marker looks like this: