How do I enable/disable protected view in Microsoft Office 2010 - 2016?

To change your protected view settings perform one of the following:

Method One

1. Open any Office application (Ex: Word or Excel).  
2. Click on File button, and select Options
3. Under Options select Trust Center in the left pane
4. Click on Trust Center Settings in the right pane
5. Click on the Protected View in the left pane of Trust Center window
6. Check/Uncheck Protected Mode Options below to fit your needs

Method Two

1. Open any Office application (Ex: Word or Excel).  
2. Click on File button, and select Options
3. Under Options select Trust Center in the left pane
4. Click on Trust Center Settings in the right pane
5. Click on the File Block Settings in the left pane of Trust Center window
6. Click Restore Defaults

Note: If you want to take advantage of this security feature in a customized way, you can go back to step 6 and set specific Trusted Publishers, Locations and Documents right from this Window. Unfortunately, you need to apply these setting to each Microsoft Office application individually.

For additional information, please see the related article(s).