What Are ActiveX Controls?

click to enlarge

Chances are you’ve seen the message shown above - or, at least, one similar to it - numerous times, and chances are you take one of the following two actions when you receive this warning:

1. You always ignore the warning, fearing that if you install it, evil cyber-space monkeys will highjack your computer, steal all your personal information and riddle your PC with worms and viruses, deeming it nothing more then a clunky paper weight.

OR

2. You always click “Install ActiveX Control”, close your eyes and hope those evil monkeys will let you off lightly this time.

Whether you fall into group 1 or group 2, always taking the same action can create problems and put a damper on your browsing experience. But before we get to that, let’s find out what, exactly, ActiveX controls are.

ActiveX controls - sometimes referred to as modules, objects or applets - are a Microsoft technology that, basically, enables programs to share their functionality. For example, it's an ActiveX control that enables you to view videos directly within a browser window instead of having to open Windows Media Player. These controls are most commonly used to add functionality to Microsoft's web browser, Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer cannot, by itself, display Silverlight or Flash animations, play QuickTime videos or display PDF files. It's ActixeX controls that enable the browser to do these things. Some ActiveX controls come pre-loaded with Windows or are automatically loaded when you install an application, such as Adobe Flash. Others you are prompted to download when you visit a website.

For a more detailed explanation (with lots of technical gobbledygook) see this article from Microsoft.

Please continue on to part 2 of this article series to learn what the risks of installing ActiveX controls are, some problems you could encounter if you always ignore, or install, ActiveX controls, how to know if a website is safe, and how to enable/disable ActiveX controls.