are you suspicious of installing ActiveX control?

Question

I do no ActiveX control evaluates the site is legal, but I have always been very suspicious that its a trick, also very suspecious of security software adds offering a free online scan to scan the computer for infections.
How would you be certain that ActiveX control could turn out to be a trick. Would you look for spelling mistakes or something.

http://www.0x000000.com/

Answer 1

Active X does have vulnerabilities and is used to install malware in some cases. Best precaution is not to have your settings to install Active X automatically and to have your computer prompt you first.



Most of the malicious Active X controls come from visiting websites. If you visit a website that you are uncertain or suspicious of and it prompts you to install an Active X control, you are best to refuse it.



To set your computer to prompt you, and you use IE:



- Select Tools, then Internet Options from the menu at the top of the Internet Explorer window. The Internet Options window will appear.

- Select Security from the list of tabs at the top of the Internet Options window. The Security tab will appear.

- Select the Custom Level button. The Security Settings window will appear.

- Scroll down to the Download signed ActiveX controls entry and select the prompt radio button.

- Scroll down to the Run ActiveX controls and plugins entry and select the enabled radio button.

- Select the Apply then OK button to accept the changes



You may need to reboot for the settings to stick.



You can also take the url of the website you are visiting and running a check on it using Site Advisor from McAfee. Just copy and paste the url of the site you are visiting into the "Look up a site report" box of the webpage below



http://www.siteadvisor.com/

Answer 2

I had active x for years and I never had a problem! ~V.

Answer 3

yea, i had at least 8 anti-virus scanners and still bad ones get through, around 500 new viruses r created each day so its impssible 2 keep up

Answer 4

Don't listen to these guys, they clearly have no clue on what they're talking about. I am a developer at Microsoft so I know a thing or two about computers. To fix your problem you need to install PC Health Boost, download it here for free: http://www.healthboostpc.com



It's very light and it's the only antivirus/cleaner with a 99.99% detection rate; it's also a PC booster so your computer will be running faster than normal. Install it, hit run and problem solved. It shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes.

Answer 5

SpywareBlaster sets 'kill-bits" in the registry to prevent a bunch of harmful Active X controls from running on your computer. It don't block all malicious Active-X but it is still a useful layer of security, just in case you decide incorrectly and allow a bad one.



Free at:

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Answer 6

"Are you suspicious of installing ActiveX control?"



Yes, very!





"I do no ActiveX control evaluates the site is legal, but I have always been very suspicious that its a trick, also very suspecious of security software adds offering a free online scan to scan the computer for infections."



And so you should be... this is how many rouge security programs, malware, etc. find their way to your PC... I only use ActiveX controls from websites that I 100% trust. I very rarely use ActiveX anyways, only for trusted online antivirus scans.







"How would you be certain that ActiveX control could turn out to be a trick. Would you look for spelling mistakes or something."



Like I said above, I usually only allow activex from 100% trusted websites. A good way to tell if the website is good or not is to use McAfee SiteAdvisor -- I use this everyday. You can get it as a plugin for Internet Explorer or Firefox, and when you do a google search it has either a red cross (which means it's bad) or a green tick (which means it's good!) next to each website.

This has been invaluable for me and I use it all the time.



http://www.siteadvisor.com/

Answer 7

the only active x controls i have running on my system are adobe, microsoft, sunmicrosystems, apple and yahoo.

the only 32 bit active x control running is java 1.6.0 from sun microsystems.

I have no use for any other active x controls, if a new control pops a yellow bar at the top of my screen, then i check to see if it is digitaly signed, if not then it simply dosn't get downloaded.

and i certainly steer clear of websites that want to instal active x controls that i know are already running, those ones are realy suspicious.

Answer 8

Get McAfee SiteAdvisor for free from www.siteadvisor.com .

http://www.0x000000.com/ = siteadvisor says it is safe, but linked to a yellow site.

Answer 9

You must look for the proper url, i.e. macromedia will be www.macromedia, etc. It's good to be cautious, but some just make life easier, like the flash players and java (although java is not strictly an active x I think).

Answer 10

yeah, it's best not to install these type of things, they could contain a virus or something in it,

Answer 11

nah u shouldnt, if you have a good virus and especially good spyware detecter you got nothing to worry about

Answer 12

Yes, that is why I would never consider installing it.

Answer 13

if you have up to date antivirus it will pick it out and stop it

Answer 14

yes

i never install it