Internet Explorer to Block Out-of-date ActiveX Controls Starting September 9

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 11 Aug 2014

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer team recently announced that the web browser will start blocking out-of date ActiveX controls starting with the 9th of September.

A notification will show up when Internet Explorer finds and blocks an out-of-date ActiveX control. The notification will let the user update the ActiveX control or “run this time.”

Tomorrow, August 12, 2014, Microsoft will roll out an update for the Internet Explorer (IE) web browser, update that will introduce a security feature called “out-of-date ActiveX control blocking.” This feature will work with IE8 through IE11 on Windows 7 SP1 and will work with Internet Explorer for desktop on Windows 8.

Starting with September 9, 2014, the out-of-date ActiveX control blocking feature mentioned above will start to block outdated controls. The user will be notified and will be provided with two options: update the ActiveX control or run it just this time.

The notification looks like this on Internet Explorer 9 through IE 11.



And like this on Internet Explorer 8.



“ActiveX controls are small apps that let web sites provide content, like videos and games, and let you interact with content like toolbars. Unfortunately, because many ActiveX controls aren’t automatically updated, they can become outdated as new versions are released. It’s very important that you keep your ActiveX controls up-to-date because malicious or compromised Web pages can target security flaws in outdated controls to collect information, install dangerous software, or let someone else control your computer remotely,” explained Fred Pullen, Senior Product Manager, Internet Explorer and Jasika Bawa, Program Manager, Security.

In related news, you may want to know that Microsoft recently rolled out a celebrity tracking app for iOS called SNIPP3T. The app lets you subscribe to more than 10,000 celebrities, lets you explore lots of interesting content, and lets you connect with fans from all over the world.




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