ActiveX
What exactly is ActiveX? I did a search in Google for ActiveX and found 250,000 pages for ActiveX. With that many pages it must be important! Microsoft has pages for ActiveX, but what exactly is it? Well, a search in Google for definition of ActiveX found 74,500 pages!
Basically, it is something like a program, but not a program, something like a Java applet, but not Java. Is it like a script? I still don't know what ActiveX is! But I do know you need to be very careful with ActiveX in your browser.
Some more definitions for ActiveX (some are pretty good) in a Google search for ActiveX.
Wikipedia.org has a very comprehensive page on ActiveX.
Another site about ActiveX is on Webopedia. ( Not to be confused with Wikipedia.)
To set ActiveX controls in IE6, go to Tools/Internet Options. Click on the Security tab and click 'Custom level'.
Put check marks as follows:
- 1. Download signed ActiveX controls. Prompt
- 2. Download unsigned ActiveX controls. Disable
- 3. Initialize and script ActiveX not marked as safe. Disable
- 4. Run ActiveX Controls and Plugins. Prompt
- 5. Script ActiveX Controls marked safe for scripting. Prompt
This will make your computer safer from 'bad' ActiveX controls. (But now you may be constantly nagged by IE 'Do you want to run ActiveX controls?')
A lot of the bad stuff that can get onto your computer is the result of ActiveX.
Hint: To avoid ActiveX altogether, use Opera or Firefox, which do not have any ActiveX.