ActiveX explained


ActiveX is Microsoft technology used for developing reusable object oriented software components. ActiveX is an alternate name for OLE automation, not a separate technology. While the term "Automation" refers to the overall technology, "ActiveX" refers to the objects that can be created and manipulated using Automation.

Due to Internet Explorer and Visual Basic's popularity in the late 1990s, many people incorrectly assume that all of ActiveX is related to ActiveX controls. An ActiveX control is a special type of ActiveX object that is designed to be used similar to a plugin. The most common use of ActiveX controls is to build plugins for Internet Explorer.

Technologies using ActiveXMicrosoft has developed a large number of products and software platforms using ActiveX objects, and many are still in use today.
a) ActiveX Data Objects (ADO)
b) Active Server Pages
c) ActiveMovie, later renamed to DirectShow
d) Active Messaging, later renamed to Collaboration Data Objects
e) Active Scripting, a technology for scripting ActiveX objects.
f) ActiveX Streaming Format (ASF), renamed to Advanced Streaming Format, then to Advanced Systems Format

An ActiveX control is similar to a Java applet. (see Best Java Hoster). Unlike Java applets, however, ActiveX controls have full access to the Windows operating system. This gives them much more power than Java applets, but with this power comes a certain risk that the ActiveX control may damage software or data on your machine. To control this risk, Microsoft developed a registration system so that browsers can identify and authenticate an ActiveX control before downloading it. Another difference between Java applets and ActiveX controls is that Java applets can be written to run on all platforms, whereas ActiveX controls are currently limited to Windows environments, see Windows Hosting)


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Adallom and OPSWAT Deliver Industry’s First Advanced Endpoint Compliance Solution for Cloud Applications - 📅 - Cloud access security broker Adallom and OPSWAT, a provider of software-based solutions to secure and manage IT infrastructure, today announced a new jointly-developed advanced endpoint compliance solution for cloud applications. The migration of enterprise data to cloud applications like Salesforce, Box, Office 365 ...
Az.pl Launches CM4all OnlineDrive in Poland - 📅 - Released with an AZ.pl-branded Backup Client, the CM4all OnlineDrive helps AZ.pl's customers to automatically back-up their digital resources according to simple rules they can define. CM4all, a provider of web-based applications, today announce that Az.pl, a domain name registrar, has launched a fully ...
UOL Launches CM4all OnlineDrive - 📅 - Enables UOL to offer online file storage enabling scalable fulfillment of the market's need for online file sharing and storage space. CM4all, a provider of web-based applications, today announced that UOL, a Brazilian web portal, has launched the fully branded, English and Brazilian Portuguese ...
Pacific One Net Partners with CM4all - 📅 - Chinese broadband internet service provider Pacific One Net adds the CM4all OnlineDrive and CM4all WebsiteCreator to its service portfolio. CM4all, a provider of web-based applications, today announced that Pacific One Net Limited, a provider of broadband internet services, has launched fully branded ...
Japan Cybercrime Grows by 15.5 Percent - 📅 - Internet security software provider Finjan (www.finjan.com) announced on Friday that it has just published the 2008 cybercrime figures from Japan which reveals a 15.5 percent year-on-year annual growth. "Anecdotal evidence suggests that the volume and value of cybercrime has soared again in 2008 and, with ...
Kaminsky Explains DNS Attacks - 📅 - IOActive (ioactive.com) director of penetration testing Dan Kaminsky has publicly commented on a domain name service flaw he discovered July that makes just about everything on the Internet vulnerable because most online actions involve a DNS request. While technical details were leaked in late ...
Switzerland Tops World in Spam - 📅 - Switzerland has exceeded former front-runner Hong Kong as the most spammed country last month, according to security vendor MessageLabs (messagelabs.com). The security firm released its monthly report this week that reveled that spam overall has seen a 0.3 percent decrease from May to June, to ...