An ActiveX control is a simple OLE object that was developed to unleash the power of Object Linking and Embedding. It empowers web browsers, particularly the IE, to display such objects. In the field of custom software application development, ActiveX controls have become the primary architecture. They are used in a variety of different containers including software development tools and end-user productivity tools.
Nowadays, most web pages are usually embedded with ActiveX components. When the pages are downloaded, these components are also downloaded and launched by the computer’s operating system. Most ActiveX controls are used by operating systems to display rich multimedia content including animation, streaming video, HR images, 3D video and much other rich content.
If you want to outsource software development to an offshore software development company, you need to ensure that developers create more reliable controls for creating component based solutions. Custom software application development experts design an ActiveX control with security in mind. This is because ActiveX controls tend to be extremely insecure in providing a feature. It will be important to note that such controls are COM (Component Object Model) objects. This means it can have access to the local file system and can read from the registry. If it gets downloaded, the chances of getting vulnerable to malicious attacks are more. This is because it can be used by any web application for its own benefits, whether malicious or for honest purposes.
An offshore software development company designs an ActiveX control with security in mind. Before implementing ActiveX controls, the experts make sure whether they can get similar functionality through other methods. Some experts prefer to write the control as a DHTML behavior (Dynamic HTML behavior).
An ActiveX control is a Win32 component and so it runs without any restrictions. Custom software application development experts find possible ways to limit the functionality of the control. Restricting the functionality can be the best way to prevent others from reusing the control, particularly for malicious purposes.