ActiveX

Microsoft technology created to enable easier multimedia on the WWW . ActiveX controls can be used to create multimedia effects. On ActiveX Web sites, buttons can light up and sound effects can play when you click or move the pointer over things (see also Java  , JavaScript  ). To see it, your browser must support ActiveX.

utilities from Microsoft Corporation that combine older Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) and Component Object Model (COM) utilities.&nbsp AcitiveX is usually coded in Visual Basic and is quite confusing since it is an outgrowth of a complex set of OLE and COM technologies.&nbsp Various ActiveX applications can be downloaded from http://www.download.com/PC/Activex/0,271,0-0,00.html . &nbsp One of the most widespread applications is to give interactive controls (e.g., ask questions, provide answers, perform computations, push buttons, etc.) to users of Internet Explorer on the web.&nbsp Therein lies a huge risk as well when computers also have Windows Scripting Host (WSH) utilities using ActiveX.&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp WSH files have a file extension whs and are similar to PIF files in older 16-bit applications.&nbsp Prior to WSH applications, users could browse the web and use email without any worries about virus infections as long as security warnings were heeded about file downloads that run in Microsoft Word, Excel, etc.&nbsp That is no longer the case if WSH utilities are installed.&nbsp To avoid such risks, users can either rely upon Netscape products for email and web browsing since Netscape products use Java rather than ActiveX software.&nbsp If users prefer Microsoft Internet Explorer for web browsing and Microsoft Outlook for email, then they may want to consider adding security barriers to WSH risks.&nbsp In Internet Explorer you can click on menu choices (View, Internet Options, Security, Custom, Settings) and choose the option to disable "ActiveX Controls Not Marked as Safe."&nbsp Repeat the same procedure for Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express.&nbsp You may also want to consider disabling WSH, although you thereby lose the applications relying on WSH utilities. &nbsp For virus updates and news, two good web sites are Network Associates at http://www.nai.com/vinfo/ and Mcafee at http://www.mcafee.com/ .&nbsp (Also see Visual Basic and CORBA )&nbsp For more information on the use of ActiveX in distributed network computing, see Database, ADO, and RDS .

A technology from our friends at Microsoft that links desktop applications to the World Wide Web. Using ActiveX tools, software developers can create interactive Web content for their applications. For example, Word and Excel documents can be viewed directly in a browser if ActiveX is enabled. The biggest downside of ActiveX is that it's almost impossible to have the latest version, considering Microsoft releases a new version just about every day. However, when it does work, it works pretty well.