What is ActiveX ?
What is ActiveX ? – ActiveX is a software framework created by Microsoft that allows applications and web browsers to interact with different types of content and functionalities across various platforms.
It is primarily used to embed and execute small applications, or controls, on web pages, enabling rich multimedia content, interactive forms, and other advanced features in Internet Explorer (IE) and other Microsoft technologies.
Key points about ActiveX:
- Components: ActiveX controls are small programs that run within a larger application. For example, ActiveX controls in Internet Explorer enable things like displaying videos, interactive maps, or handling complex forms.
- Windows Integration: ActiveX is tightly integrated with Windows operating systems, and it can be used in various applications like Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, and others.
- Security Concerns: One of the main criticisms of ActiveX is its security vulnerabilities. Because ActiveX controls are able to access the system resources of a computer, malicious actors can exploit these controls to install malware or steal information. As a result, ActiveX became notorious for being a target for security exploits.
- Deprecation: In recent years, ActiveX has become obsolete, especially with the decline of Internet Explorer and the rise of more secure and cross-platform technologies (like HTML5, JavaScript, and modern web APIs). As a result, Microsoft has been pushing users away from using ActiveX, and newer browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox don’t support it at all.
In short, ActiveX was a framework developed by Microsoft to enable interactive web content but has been largely replaced due to security issues and the emergence of more modern web standards.