Neowin News Feed for: Activex

Microsoft makes it harder to enable ActiveX in Office apps to improve security

Taras Buria — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 07:30:01 +0000

ActiveX is a powerful technology for Office apps, but its inherent risks pose serious security threats. To combat this, Microsoft is making it harder to enable ActiveX. Read more...

Microsoft is turning off ActiveX by default in Office 2024

Taras Buria — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 14:08:01 +0000

Microsoft has issued a notification in the Admin Center to warn users that the upcoming Office 2024 will ship with ActiveX turned off by default. Read more...

Update Catalog no more: Microsoft makes PowerShell imports mandatory for WSUS

Sayan Sen — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 08:14:01 +0000

Microsoft is altering the way IT administrators and system administrators can now import WSUS updates. The process is moving over from the Update Catalog to PowerShell script delivery method. Read more...

Microsoft acknowledges Windows zero-day that leverages Office files for attacks

Abhay V — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 16:14:01 +0000

Microsoft has acknowledged that it is investigating a Windows zero-day vulnerability that is currently being exploited in the wild. The firm has provided a workaround that involves AcitveX controls. Read more...

Microsoft is securing Trusted Documents on Office 365 to prevent attacks

Karthik Mudaliar — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 15:58:01 +0000

Microsoft is making Trusted Documents more secure by making sure they block Active Content like macros, ActiveX, and DDE after the IT admin's choice to block it, instead of the end-users' choice. Read more...

You can finally use the Microsoft Update Catalog in browsers besides Internet Explorer

Rich Woods — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 16:40:01 +0000

Microsoft has finally removed its ActiveX requirement from the Update Catalog, allowing users to use the service in browsers other than Internet Explorer, such as the company's own Edge. Read more...

Microsoft increases IE security, starts blocking old ActiveX controls

Shreyas Gandhe — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 00:39:40 +0000

Microsoft will start blocking outdated ActiveX controls for Internet Explorer in order to prevent security risks involved in using old unpatched third-party plugins with the browser. Read more...

Microsoft warns of serious IE exploit discovery

Andrew Lyle — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:32:31 +0000

A very critical security vulnerability has been discovered without a fix for it yet. The exploit can hijack a computer remotely if the victim simply visits a compromised web site. The attack allows... Read more...

Symantec: Microsoft Access ActiveX attacks will intensify

Daniel Fleshbourne — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:17:22 +0000

An easy-to-use toolkit used to hack computers has now been updated to take advantage of an unpatched security vulnerability in Microsoft's software, which could mean attacks will intensify, according to vendor Symantec. The Neosploit toolkit... Read more...

Microsoft brings back automatic ActiveX

Daniel Fleshbourne — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 12:06:48 +0000

Microsoft is to remove a feature from Internet Explorer that required users to activate certain interactive features on a website. Prior to April 2007, the features functioned without any user interaction. The changes were made... Read more...

Month Of ActiveX Bugs Reveals Critical Vulnerabilities

Mon, 07 May 2007 19:59:28 +0000

The latest Month of Bugs project, Month of ActiveX Bugs (MoAxB) started up on May 1 and has already found two critical flaws. First off, Microsoft's ActiveX controls, used to make Web pages richer and... Read more...

Symantec suffers ActiveX and licensing problems

Steven Parker — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 13:08:41 +0000

Symantec has released details of a potential security threat in its 2006 products, involving ActiveX software provided by a third-party developer. Meanwhile, some users are apparently reporting problems with their subscriptions, as false warnings of... Read more...

ActiveX Triggers "Critical" Windows Hole

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 14:14:07 +0000

Microsoft is investigating reports of a vulnerability in a Windows ActiveX control that could allow an attacker to remotely take control of a computer. One security company rated the vulnerability critical, while Microsoft said it... Read more...

SmartCode VieverX VNC ActiveX Control 2.5.83.0

Steven Parker — Tue, 10 May 2005 15:06:03 +0000

Thanks averkiev for this submission. The SmartCode ViewerX VNC control gives developers full access to the VNC Viewer features using a set of intuitive ActiveX properties and methods. With ViewerX control, developers can easily provide... Read more...

IE competitors mull ActiveX alternative

Wed, 30 Jun 2004 21:25:00 +0000

While Microsoft hangs onto ActiveX everybody else is looking for a better alternative. Every other browser maker except Microsoft is revising the way plug-ins run in their browsers. "There's currently a hole in... Read more...

IBM Patches Faulty ActiveX Controls

Tue, 22 Jun 2004 22:53:20 +0000

IBM today released patches for eGatherer 2.0.0.16 and acpRunner 1.2.5.0. If these controls are left un-patched an attacker could "write malicious files anywhere on a computer's hard disk via a special Web page". ... Read more...

SmartCode VieverX VNC ActiveX Control 2.3.37.0 is released

Tue, 06 Jan 2004 16:34:28 +0000

The SmartCode ViewerX VNC control gives developers full access to the VNC Viewer features using a set of intuitive ActiveX properties and methods. With ViewerX control, developers can easily provide screen sharing and remote control... Read more...