Microsoft ActiveX controls

[bczoom]

Since Microsoft lost the patent lawsuit to Eolas Technologies, they have to change Internet Explorer.

Can someone tell me what I may encounter if I don't upgrade IE?

[PBinWA]

I'm not sure what happens if you don't update your IE. I think that not updating your IE is probably the safest thing to do for now. However, I think MS plans (or has to) to force these updates down everyone's throat sooner or later.

If you do update your IE then you will get a lot confirmation prompts.

Here's more info:

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1943847,00.asp

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/?url=/workshop/author/dhtml/overview/activating_activex.asp

[Doc]

Has anyone actually done this yet?

[PBinWA]

Done what?

Upgraded their IE? I have.

Otherwise, I don't generally use ActiveX controls in my web sites so it's pretty much a non-issue for me.

It will be an issue for sites that use a lot of Macromedia Flash in their advertising as people are going to be pretty mad when all the prompts start coming up.

I see an opportunity for an enterprising hacker to write an IE plugin that overrides the MS behavior. It's probably already in the works.

PB