Once up on a time, I sat down in front of a new Windows computer and the only web browser option was Internet Explorer. Upon opening IE, I received a prompt, "Do you wish to use the recommended settings (green)" or "Don't use recommended settings (red)". I was feeling trusting, so I picked the green one. Big mistake! Next, I went to download Firefox, but I kept getting the message "The file could not be downloaded". I added mozilla.org, downloads.mozilla.org and all sorts of sites to my Trusted Sites, but nothing worked. Internet Explorer was utterly UNUSABLE.
Then I found the secret. Tools --> Internet Options --> Advanced. At the bottom there's a section for "Reset Internet Explorer settings". Click the button that says "Reset". Then, the next time you open IE, it will ask you again if you want the recommended settings. Then you can choose "Don't use recommended settings" and then you can go and download Firefox. Whew!
Well... not quite "whew" yet. Even with this, none of the CSS stylesheets were loading. So I could not see the "Download" button. But after going into View Source, I found it. (Here it is: https://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-stub&os=win&lang=en-US)
UPDATE: Another thing you have to do to to make IE allow you to download files is in Internet Options -> Advanced, then under the heading "Security", look for the checkbox that reads "Do not save encrypted pages to desk". Then, for goodness sakes, UNCHECK THAT. Now, you can download Firefox, and wash your hands so you never have to touch IE again.
Even though I'm quite a skilled developer, if I do say so myself, IE makes me incompetent!
