Fergie's Tech Blog

Load ActiveX Controls on Vista Without Administrator Privileges

I agree with Bruce Schneier on this one -- this seems like a really bad idea.

Microsoft is adding a brand-new feature to Windows Vista to allow businesses to load ActiveX controls on systems running without admin privileges.

The new feature, called ActiveX Installer Service, will be fitted into the next public release of Vista to provide a way for enterprises to cope with the UAC (User Account Control) security mechanism.

UAC, formerly known as LUA (Limited User Account), is enabled by default in Vista to separate Standard User privileges from those that require admin rights to harden the operating system against malware and malicious hacker attacks.

However, because UAC will block the installation of ActiveX controls on Standard User systems, enterprise applications that use the technology will encounter breakages. ActiveX controls are objects used to enhance a user's interaction with an application.

posted by Fergie @ 7/03/2006 09:24:00 AM