The ActiveX control might then change passwords, access confidential data, install malware or carry out any number of other operations. If the phishing campaign is successful, the users will trust the site and install the control with little thought. For example, an organization's users might be the target of a phishing campaign that directs them to a malicious website, where they're prompted to install an ActiveX control. All it takes is a few simple clicks, which can make them susceptible to a range of attacks. Under the right circumstances, an ActiveX control can gain almost unlimited access to the underlying system and even to network resources, depending on the user's level of access.ĪctiveX controls are easy for users to install. However, they aren't used much these days because they pose many security risks. Over the years, ActiveX controls have been implemented to support web applications. By using reuseable components, application developers cut the time required for program development and improve the capabilities and quality of their program. Visual Basic and C++ are often used to write ActiveX controls.Īn ActiveX control is implemented as a dynamic link library module that runs in a container. Developers can build an ActiveX control in programming languages that work with Microsoft's COM. ActiveX controls replaced the earlier Object Linking and Embedding, known as OCX, custom-level controls.Īn ActiveX control is roughly equivalent in concept and implementation to the Java applet. These technologies are based on the Component Object Model (COM), an interoperability standard for building reusable software libraries that can interact at runtime.
What do ActiveX controls do?ĪctiveX controls are part of Microsoft's overall ActiveX technology.
The IE Tab add-in makes it possible to use ActiveX controls within Chrome. This is a Chrome extension that displays webpages using IE. One example is the Google Chrome browser, which offers the IE Tab add-in. By using ActiveX controls, developers can implement commonly performed operations across many applications without having to redevelop the code for each instance.ĪctiveX controls are supported in other ways. For instance, a developer might add an ActiveX control to a Word document that lets users fill out a form in the document. In addition to web applications, other types of Windows applications - such as Microsoft Word and Excel - can use ActiveX controls.
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