August 2007
Monthly Archive
ActiveX Technology Risks
Posted by pcfix on 21 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: malware, activex, active x, browser, internet explorer, windows, security, java, computer
ActiveX is a series of strategic object-oriented programming technologies and tools that were introduced by Microsoft in the late 1990s. The ActiveX name is not used very often today and most of the technologies that used ActiveX are considered defunct or have been renamed. However, some of the ActiveX technologies are still used widely. People like to view dynamic and exciting web sites and this is where ActiveX controls come in.
The main technology of ActiveX is the Component Object Model. This is used in a network alongside a directory and other additional supporting programming. In this situation it becomes the Distributed Component Object Model. When working with ActiveX technology, a developer will write self-sufficient programs that can be run anywhere on an ActiveX network. This is known as ActiveX control. ActiveX is Microsoft’s attempt to compete with Java technology that was introduced by Sun Microsystems and because of this an ActiveX control is very similar to a Java applet.
If your computer uses a Windows operating system, chances are you have noticed many different Windows files that have the OCX extension on them. OCX stands for Object Linking and Embedding control. Microsoft has changed to the term ActiveX for OCX. The main advantage to ActiveX, which uses components, is that a single component can be reused by many different applications on a personal computer. A Component Object Model can also be created using many different programming languages or development tools. This makes ActiveX available for use by many different programmers with little difficulty.
There are many practical uses for the ActiveX technology. For example a web developer may use ActiveX controls for scripting on web pages. ActiveX programs can also allow you to incorporate video and audio into business applications or enable universal access to data on a Windows network using several different versions of the Windows operating system.
There are also many utilities available to help you troubleshoot problems with ActiveX. ActiveX Manager will keep track of the ActiveX controls that you have installed on your computer. There are also websites available that can be navigated to. These will determine very quickly for you if your internet browser has been set up correctly to download, authenticate, install, and display ActiveX controls, and manipulate them with JavaScript.
ActiveX security is somewhat of a concern because it relies entirely on the judgment of the computer user. An ActiveX control will have a digital signature from the developer of the program and other parties that choose to endorse the program. Once the internet browser has verified the digital signature on an ActiveX control, it will provide you with a window that will give you information about who has signed the application and will ask you whether or not you want to trust the signer. Because of this, ActiveX relies entirely on the computer user to make the right decisions about what software should and should not be run on your computer. If a poor judgment is made, malicious software may be allowed to run on your computer system causing many headaches.
ActiveX Objects and PC Security
Posted by pcfix on 21 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: malware, activex, active x, browser, internet explorer, computer, security, java, internet
An ActiveX Object is a module that has been created using the guidelines of Microsoft’s Component Object Model (COM). This is just another one of the many COM-based technologies that have been created by Microsoft. Sure, what we just said may sound real nice, but what exactly does all that mean?
ActiveX has been around for a while now, and may even be considered an old technology to many developers. Generally ActiveX Objects are written in Visual Basic 6 and are Microsoft’s approach to client side components. Other methods such as AJAX are starting to replace ActiveX Objects. An ActiveX Object is a module that is run on the computer system of the web browser rather than the web server that is hosting the web site. ActiveX was Microsoft’s answer to JAVA applets and this technique is similar to the method of using JAVA applications. The main purpose is to remove the burden from the web server and make the client side responsible for running the ActiveX Object to perform a certain procedure before returning the results back to the web server.
The use of ActiveX Objects in this way was intended to enhance the experience of the client side user on a web site using this technology, but hackers found a way to put malicious code into ActiveX Objects, which has turned the use of ActiveX Objects into a potential security risk. To help address the issues created by these malicious ActiveX components, modern web browsers have incorporated settings so that the web browser can allow ActiveX components, warn the client side user about ActiveX components or block ActiveX components from running. These components will have a digital signature attached to them so that the web browser can verify the author of the code and then present a window with information about this to the end user so that they may decide what to do.
These ActiveX Objects have also allowed the use of Windows Tools such as buttons, text boxes and labels. This means that a developer could place these items into a form in their website to show to the end user without actually knowing any HTML. This means that if you are a Visual Basic 6 programmer for example, but knew absolutely nothing about HTML, you could potentially create an entire website that looked and felt like Windows.
ActiveX Objects have given a web site developer a way to access a person’s computer so that their website performance is related to the hardware that the user has in their computer. However, with the advent of AJAX and CSS, ActiveX components in a website are being used less often by web site developers.
ActiveX Objects and ActiveX controls are found all around the internet in many different forms. Chances are you have used programs that use these methods recently. Some examples of programs people use every day that are using these ActiveX technologies include Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash Player, Apple QuickTime Player, Microsoft Windows Media Player, Real Networks RealPlayer, and Sun Java Virtual Machine.
ActiveX Controls - what are they?
Posted by pcfix on 21 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: active x, dll, activex, java, windows
An ActiveX Control is simply a control that uses ActiveX technology. ActiveX is a set of rules for how applications should share information and an ActiveX Control can be downloaded by your web browser. Many programmers will develop ActiveX Controls using programming languages such as C, C++, Visual Basic and Java.
ActiveX was developed by Microsoft as an alternative to Java applets. Therefore an ActiveX Control is very similar to a Java applet. ActiveX Controls do have one advantage over a Java applet however. Unlike a Java applet, an ActiveX Control has full access to the Windows operating system. Because of this, ActiveX Controls have much more power than a Java applet, but there are also increased security risks as a result of this additional access. In an attempt to address the increased security risk of an ActiveX Control, Microsoft created an electronic signature system so that a web browser could identify and validate ActiveX Controls before downloading them. The one downfall to an ActiveX Control is that it can only work in Windows operating systems and therefore is unavailable to Linux and other operating system users.
The biggest downfall to ActiveX is that it relies entirely on the end user to make decisions about whether or not a specific ActiveX Control can be trusted. The internet browser will identify and verify the ActiveX Control using an electronic signature. But once it has done that, the end user is prompted with the information and asked if they would like to allow the ActiveX Control to run.
If the programmer of the ActiveX Control is trusted, there is no inherent danger in an ActiveX Control. However, if the author of the ActiveX Control is not trusted, he or she may have created an ActiveX Control that contains malicious code, making an ActiveX Control very dangerous for your system. The biggest problems usually occur when an Internet Explorer user configures their web browser to accept ActiveX Controls from un-trusted websites. Malicious ActiveX Controls are a very common way for hackers to distribute malicious software, and therefore, an internet user should be very careful about the ActiveX Controls that they accept. To help protect from this, a computer user could use a different web browser that does not use the Trident rendering engine.
An ActiveX Control is just a glorified COM object, so there are many different ways that they can be written. Using Microsoft Foundation Classes is a method that is usually not recommended because the MFC DLLs are too large. Using Active Template Library on the other hand, is the most used method fro writing ActiveX Controls and is also the simplest way. Writing an ActiveX Control using C or C++ is the most difficult way and requires lots of supporting code in order for it to work correctly. For this reason, this method is not used very often. Finally, ActiveX Controls can be written in programming languages that support COM. An example of this would be Visual Basic.
ActiveX Controls are all around you without you even knowing. Some very popular examples of ActiveX Controls include Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash Player, Apple QuickTime Player, Microsoft Windows Media Player and many others.
PC Trojan Horse threat
Posted by pcfix on 06 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: program, malware, trojan, operating system, spyware, software, security, computer
A Trojan horse is a small program that will install a malicious program on your computer. It will be disguised as something else to help trick a computer user into loading it. Sometimes a Trojan horse will appear to be a useful program or application but can be very harmful to your computer once it is executed.
There are two different types of a Trojan horse. The first one is useful software that has been modified by someone to include a malicious code that will run on your computer while you are running the other software. The other type is a program that has been disguised as something else such as a picture or game in an attempt to trick a computer user into running the file.
There are a few guidelines that should be followed so that you can protect yourself from the many Trojan horses that are out on the internet. Trojan horses are most commonly send through email systems so if you receive an email from someone that you do not know, do not open any attachments that are included in the email unless you can confirm the source of them first. Sometimes you may even receive a Trojan horse from someone you know as hackers are able to steal address books from time to time. If the email you have received from a friend does not make sense, then do not open any files attached to it.
When you are initially setting up your email application, be sure that you do not allow it to open attachments automatically. This would cause a Trojan horse to be executed before you can do anything about it. Some email applications have the ability to scan attachments before opening them. These would be preferable to one that does not.
Perhaps the most important thing that you can do to protect yourself from Trojan horses and Viruses alike is to be sure that you have an up to date anti-virus program running on your computer. If the anti-virus application has a setting for automatic updates, be sure to turn them on so that you do not have to worry about forgetting to update your definition files.
Finally, be sure that you are installing any operating system patches that are provided to correct security loop-holes and avoid using any peer to peer applications. Also, if you are still concerned about getting a Trojan horse, you can download and install an anti-Trojan program that can be found for free on the internet.
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ActiveSync Mobile Syncronization installation problems
Posted by pcfix on 06 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: configuration, windows
If you have a Palm Pilot or other mobile device, chances are you have wanted to syncronize your files on that mobile device with your personal computer. If you are having problems understanding how this is done, or what software is required to accomplish this task, do not fear. This is where ActiveSync comes in.
ActiveSync is a program that Microsoft developed to allow mobile devices such as Palm Pilots to syncronize with a personal computer or with a server that is running Microsoft Exchange Server or Kerio MailServer. When syncronizing a mobile device with the Microsoft Exchanger Server, only PIM (personal information manager) data can be syncronized with the server. This limits the data that can be syncronized to things such as emails, calendar entries and contact or address book information. With the release later on of Windows Mobile 5.0, the ability to syncronize tasks is also available. When syncronizing with a personal computer rather than a Microsoft Exchange server, many more options are available to the user. This method will allow PIM data syncronization with Microsoft Outlook as well as the user’s Internet favorites, files, tasks and other data.
ActiveSync also facilitates the manual tranfer of files and data to and from a mobile device to a personal computer or server, limited ability to backup and restore the information on a mobile device and the ability to install and uninstall software applications that are installed on a mobile device.
There are many different types of mobile devices that support ActiveSync to syncronize data with a personal computer or server. These include PDAs and Smartphones that are running various versions of the Windows Mobile or Windows CE operating system. Many devices that do not use a Windows operating system are also supported, including devices that use the Symbian platform.
If you need to install ActiveSync to connect a mobile device to your personal computer, there are downloads available from Microsoft’s website. Be sure to take note that ActiveSync will only work on personal computers running Windows XP or earlier operating systems. If you have the latest and greatest and are running Windows Vista, there is a different program available for you called Windows Mobile Device Center. There is also detailed information avaialable on Microsoft’s website that describe the features and changes that have occurred with each release of ActiveSync, as well as the System requirements for the personal computer that you are going to install the ActiveSync software on and the supported mobile device operating systems that will work with Microsoft’s ActiveSync.
If you tend to have difficulties installing software on your computer, you will be able to find detailed installation instructions and a troubleshooting guide on the Microsoft website. You can also sign up to receive updates about the ActiveSync program. As a reward, you will receive access to tutorials about ActiveSync, Help files, an email setup wizard, free ringtones to personalize your device, and free productivity and entertainment software. Oh ya, did we mention that you will also be getting regular newsletters about ActiveSync?
How to deal with ZoneAlarm problems
Posted by pcfix on 06 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: registry, firewall, security, windows
ZoneAlarm provides a great firewall product for free to home users, but what do you do when you run into problems? We will tell you about a few of the common technical issues and what you can do to try and resolve them.
One common problem with ZoneAlarm is that you cannot access the internet or emails after you have installed ZoneAlarm. If this is the case, it is recommended that you perform a clean uninstall of the ZoneAlarm program and then try to reinstall it. To do this, you will need to right-click on the ZoneAlarm uninstall icon and then select Properties. Add a space to the end of the executable name and then add “/clean” to the end of it. Run this program and if ZoneAlarm uninstalls successfully, you can go ahead and install a new copy of it.
If you have problems with the clean uninstall, you will need to reboot your computer into Safe Mode. Now you will want to delete the Zone Labs folder from Program Files and then delete the folder Zone Labs from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE in your Windows Registry. Now delete the files in C:\windows\internet logs\. Once this has been completed you will need to reboot your computer.
Now that you have successfully removed ZoneAlarm from your computer, you will need to go to the Zone Labs web site and download the installer for the product you need. Run the installation file to install the program into your computer again and your problems should now be resolved.
Sometimes when attempting to install ZoneAlarm you will get an invalid win32 application error. This is caused when the installation file downloaded is not complete. Check the size of the file to see if it is the same as the one provided from the site. If it is not, your internet connection has most likely timed out causing the file on your computer to be incomplete. To help prevent this from happening, install a download manager such as True Downloader that is available on the internet.
Another common problem is that you cannot access emails with outlook when using ZoneAlarm Pro with Norton Anti-virus. This is because the email scanning part of Norton is being blocked by the ZoneAlarm firewall and therefore is not allowing your emails to flow through. There are a couple of things that you can do to correct this issue. The first and easiest is to simply disable the email scanning option in Norton Anti-virus. If you would like to leave this activated you can check for any components of Norton in the Program Control of the firewall and be sure to check off access and server. Now you can restart Outlook and everything should work correctly.
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