The current versions of IE (6sp2 and 7) no longer allow ActiveX scripts to install automatically; they must get approval from the user first.
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[off topic]
Dev, in your sig, is that picture of Revolver Ocelot made in Magic Pengel or something? Cause it looks like that kind of animation… >_>
98 does have SE (2nd Edtion).
That becouse if 98’s had a SP2 it would so big and repalaces most of the files that came with the Windows CD. I Think I may go XP soon and not bother until my uncles sell is Vista PC (He’ll need it for his job, but I would like it.). (My hard ware/Lack of income has force me to go ME not 98.)
BN
If it really bad at DOS. I’ll find my DOS 6.22 kit and be contented with that.
I actually don’t know where its from :\ I found it through random googling.
I assume its from either VRMissions or Special Missions, the append discs for the PS1 MGS, but having not played either, i can’t say for sure :\
Why would the PS1 MGS append discs have a picture of MGS3-era Ocelot?
Edit: I was wrong. You can still develop with ActiveX >_< but it’s not recommended though.
ActiveX controls that you use in your software are COM (Component Object Model) components. As Dev said, they are used to reuse code other people have programmed.
That can be good because one of the main goals we seek to achieve when we do object oriented programming (like when you use Java) is resusability of code. However, ActiveX wasn’t the best thing when it came to security, and soon became a hell for everyone.
After COM there was also COM+, and you can use both in .NET, but it’s not recommended. They are mainly used to do interop between .NET and (argh) old VB code. Nowadays, we use .NET assemblies, which so far have been proven safe.
Speaking of .NET, I’m almost 100% sure that IE7 was done in it. Vista was mostly done in .NET too, from what I’ve read. I’m afraid that browsers that are not done in .NET will have a harder time running in Vista, or won’t be able to do everything IE7 will do. That would be really bad for everyone.
In other words, it would be another attempt by Microsoft to try to control us and the way we browse?
-.-
In any case, this ActiveX thing sounds pretty useless to me. If it’s as big a security hole as Dev says it is, then I’m glad Firefox doesn’t have it.
And Dev’s sig freaking rocks.
If all you do is browse through news sites, webboards, livejournals, portals etc., then yeah, you don’t need it. Which is the case for more than 9 out of 10 people.
ActiveX was only created so that you could run some external applications inside your browser. This was meant so that old programs wouldn’t have to be rewritten to run in IE, or people who never cared about learning script languages could create their programs normally and run them in a browser.
Serious programmers don’t do that. They (re)write their programs in Javascript, VB Script or whatever other script languages, and run them as ASP/JSP/PHP/CGI apps; or make Shockwave/Flash apps, so much cooler. It’s easier, more stable, runs in any browser, and you won’t have all those issues with security since these don’t allow you to completely mess up with a system.
Of course you can’t do everything with the scripts mentioned above. If you wish to make a program that runs inside a browser and works like an antivirus, or a task manager, I can only think of ActiveX solving the problem. With ActiveX one can manipulate the memory from the computer more directly, kill tasks, call programs like format.exe or defrag.exe… But that’s exposing your machine’s system to unknwon people, and of course hackers will take advantage of that.
Now, an ActiveX app is just a program like any other running in your computer. You could pick the code of the ActiveX component, compile it into a .exe file and run, it’d be quite the same. So if you ever got a trojan or virus from ActiveX components, you should have had (a better) antivirus by then. The real problem with ActiveX is the option in IE that allows for the automatic download and running of these programs. Browsing with that option turned on is the same as downloading a lot of .exe files from which you don’t know anything about, from unknown people, and opening these exe’s.
Again, fortunately, IE6sp2 and IE7 disallow for the automatic download or running of ActiveX scripts. The two ActiveX scripts that I use the most often (mostly because my job requires it) are Microsoft’s <A HREF=“http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/”>Windows Update</A>, and Trend-Micro’s <A HREF=“http://housecall.trendmicro.com/”>Housecall</A>. Both require ActiveX to run. Also, McAfee requires ActiveX to be installed in order to download or run any of their programs, and Symantec (Norton AntiVirus) requires an ActiveX capable browser on the machine in order to run its software, as well.
I don’t use Norton or MS software through IE… My update downloads for those are made automatically off browser.
I’ve got an AOL edit of IE6 SP1, under Secutity Tab it has ActiveX settings. I’ve set it Propmt or Deny.
BN
(I Plan to Wipe the HD when I have Driver Disks of the previos owner)
Now if Norton or McAfee were any good…
I’ll tell you, with my last Norton scan, it found 1 spyware and no viruses. When I scanned it with Adaware and AVG, not an hour later, they found 99 spywares and 3 viruses. Not very good, hmm?
Of course Windows Updates are rather important, but that’d be the only thing I’m aware of that really needs it. In any case it’s impossible to remove IE for some retarded reason. -.-
Bill Gates fails. Horribly and completely.
What’s AVG?
Awesoooooooome! 