ActiveX control are small programs that enhance your browsing experience. These small programs help your browser have more features and more functions than the standard browser. Firefox is the best example of a browser that has many, even hundreds of possible add-ons or plug-ins, as they are often called. ActiveX control is extremely important to managing your browsing experience. It can also be the reason why you are calling for computer repairs. Programs that hijack our computer, known as malware, also depend on ActiveX control. The more you can understand about ActiveX control, the more you will understand about viruses and malware.
ActiveX Blocking
Contents
ActiveX blocking is a normal security feature of many browsers. They do this because a website is actively trying to add a new ActiveX control into our browser, and therefore, a small application inside our browser will operate when we have our browser open. This is very typical of modern malware. Instead of trying to install on our computer, the malware will hide inside our browser and make use of our internet connection, or it will monitor our own use. You should set your browser to detect any ActiveX manipulation so you are warned when a website is attempting to do this. If you don’t, your browser can become the reason why your computer is having so many problems, and you are using huge amounts of internet bandwidth while doing practically nothing.
What is the ActiveX Control For?
When your browser prompts you asking to install an ActiveX control, you need to ask yourself if you know what it is for, and why is it being installed. You need to know you can trust the website. It is important to understand that some of the sneakiest malware will ride another program, add-on or ActiveX control, into your computer. This is often the case when we are downloading free programs from the internet.
Free Programs
We must ask ourselves why so many programs are for free. There is little reason for all of these developers to make so many programs without earning an income. Some are made to build a brand name, others are only the simplified versions of a program, in the hope by using them, we will want to use the full version in the future. Free programs, especially those that operate inside our browser are often the means we can have unwanted malware on our computer. All will include ActiveX components, and they can be installed with the ActiveX components we are agreeing to without us knowing. We should all take care when downloading a free program from the internet. Paying is one way you know you are safe.
Information Tracking
The biggest reason why malware is placed on a user’s computer is to track the websites they visit and gather more information about what they do while they are online. Protection tracking is available with many browsers, and is a blanket way to deal with this kind of malware. Tracking of your activities will also mean your internet connection is being used to send data back to the collection centre. Again, these programs are managed and controlled by an ActiveX control.
Whenever you see your browser wants to install an ActiveX control, you have to ask yourself why this is happening, and what is the purpose of that ActiveX control. The better websites minimise the need for them, and those that you do allow to install the control, should only be websites you really trust. One simple ActiveX control on your computer can cost you a lot of money getting computer support to rid yourself of it, and you could be using a lot of internet data without knowing. If you are in doubt, contact your computer support supplier.
About Brandon Leibowitz
