Сегодня если не каждый, то уж точно подавляющее most users of modern computer systems know, or at least have heard, about the concept of ActiveX. What it is and why such technologies are used, we will try to figure it out. Let's look at the most basic aspects, especially without going into technical issues.
Not to load the unprepared userunnecessary technical terms, consider ActiveX technology so that it is clear to everyone. In fact, ActiveX elements are small programs, of which a programmer or website creator as a block can make up many interesting constructions.
Initially it was thought that such elements (stillcalled add-ons) were used exclusively to add a number of additional features to certain World Wide Web resources and were supported only by the native Windows browser called Internet Explorer (using programs in different languages in one browser regardless of the development environment).
In part, it is.However, now a lot of other controls can also be attributed to ActiveX technologies. What is it? The simplest example is the supplement in the form of a Flash player from Macromedia Corporation, which was at the very beginning of its creation.
Today it is the most common plugin.Adobe ActiveX Player, more precisely Adobe Flash Player, which is able to integrate into almost all known browsers today. In addition to the Adobe Corporation, which took the baton from Macromedia, there are still a lot of developers of similar plug-ins, but their products, compared to this unique player, cannot be compared to any other, and therefore is simply unclaimed.
However, the programs in the usual sense of suchIt’s very difficult to call the elements, because it is simply impossible to launch them in the classical way (double click) Their built-in codes are executed just the same in the environments of Internet browsers.
To make it clearer, consider a fewmain aspects of the use of such technologies. For example, they allow, as mentioned earlier, to integrate audio or video players into the site. In other words, you can listen to music or watch a video directly on the site.
Заметьте, как правило, сама программа с оболочкой on the resource is not shown. Instead, either audio redirection to the computer system’s audio system is used, or a special window is opened for viewing the video. It turns out that the element itself (add-in) works as if in the background, hidden from the eyes of the user or visitor to the site.
The same goes for online games.Here, one of the key roles is played by the Framework framework (4th or any other version). Here it must be said that the .NET Framework is a unique development of Microsoft Corporation. However, the Adobe ActiveX technologies in this case, as it were, complement the main platform and are responsible for the discovery or reproduction of multimedia elements. This bundle allows you to use various elements that were originally written in different programming languages (C ++, Delphi, Visual Basic, etc.).
In addition, the presence of the same element "Framework 4" (or higher - 4.5) is a prerequisite for the work of many constructive or control elements of sites, even in offline mode.
Many people mistakenly refer Java applets to ActiveX controls. Yes, indeed, they are very similar, but here there is one major difference.
The fact is that designs created withJava language, work on any platforms and in any operating systems, while ActiveX has a narrow focus exclusively on Microsoft software products.
Unfortunately, now in the network you can meet verymany viruses disguised as elements such as Adobe Flash ActiveX. In this regard (since when using each element is downloaded directly to the browser, and hence to the computer), it is recommended to take into account some security measures.
The fact is that most usersthey never really read the message about the proposal to download and use one or another element and simply agree by pressing the “OK” button. This is fraught with consequences.
We should also say that in most caseseven regular antiviruses or Internet defenders are not always able to recognize such threats. So the installation of the same plug-ins in the form of Flash ActiveX should be made from official sources, roughly speaking, from the developer’s website, which guarantees complete safety in using this or that add-on.
Now a few words about how to properly configure the use of such add-ons in Internet Explorer.
First you need to call the properties menu.the browser from the Control Panel or the service section in the browser itself, then go to the security settings. Below there is a “Other” security level button. Clicking on it, we get into the ActiveX settings menu.
To God forbid not to pick up from the Internetany infection, you need to disable the download of unsigned and the use of elements marked unsafe. Ideally, it is worthwhile to use the mode of loading items at the “Offer” level.
Не стоит забывать и еще об одном средстве защиты.This is a firewall, also called a firewall. As it should be, it also has its own default security settings, however, let's say that fans of online games can add some executable plugins to the so-called exclusion list. Again, only under the condition of complete and absolute confidence in their security, as well as the absence of viruses on the sites from which they download.
And disable the firewall, as recommended to doSome developers for the correct operation of a particular online application or game, is not recommended at all. Otherwise, many people complain that a conflict arises between the application and the firewall. And turn it off, and the consequences can not be avoided. In this case, no proactive protection by the antivirus will help.
The time when such additions were calculatedonly on Internet Explorer, leave forever. Judge for yourself, because today the Adobe ActiveX technology in the form of a Flash player is used in almost all browsers and even, so to speak, is an integral part of them.
Without this, it is impossible to imagine the full use of the capabilities of any Internet resource, be it music, video, three-dimensional graphics, games, online programs, etc.
However, if you look, by and large fromAll currently known elements and downloadable ActiveX plug-ins use the Flash player as the most appropriate, since almost all other add-ons and elements, to put it mildly, are either simply unnecessary or raise fairly large doubts about their security. After all, if you give permission to install a questionable element in the browser, you can only achieve that immediately there is a hole in the security system, and it will be used by viruses, trojans, worms, malicious codes or spyware.
And what is the saddest thing in most browsersthere are even no ActiveX control settings, and the Windows settings used for third-party browsers are completely irrelevant. In other words, they do not apply to browsers.
Here we briefly reviewed the topic "ActiveX:what is it?". I would like to hope that the above material at least a little explained the principle of operation and use of such add-ins. Apparently, it is now easy to guess how much you need to be careful with these technologies, otherwise it’s not an hour, and the consequences for the entire computer system can be the most deplorable. In the case of Internet Explorer, it is better to use security modes above average (or even maximum), but in browsers from other developers, you will have to think a hundred times before agreeing to install and use the elements offered by the site. It is not only a potential threat, but also the fact that the installation of completely unnecessary plug-ins and controls, as a rule, affects the speed of the browser itself, and not for the better.
