RE: Windows Update - Unsafe ActiveX control

From: Drew Copley (dcopleyat_private)
Date: Thu Jul 17 2003 - 11:09:59 PDT

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    You should not enable "unsafe activex", in order to get Windows Update
    to work, however. 
    
    http://*.windowsupdate.com , http://download.microsoft.com,
    http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com , https://download.microsoft.com, and
    http://*.windowsupdate.com should all be enabled in trusted sites zone.
    This is by default on Windows 2003.
    
    Some references which are a good rule of thumb:
    http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/workshop/security/szo
    ne/overview/esc_changes.asp
    
    Windows 2003 does have a good system in this way for the paranoid. It
    disables activex and activescripting, but it allows for Windows Update
    to properly work. Its' settings are documented in the above url.
    
    
    
    > -----Original Message-----
    > From: Jackson, Chris [mailto:CJacksonat_private] 
    > Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2003 10:35 AM
    > To: 'Siddhartha Jain(IT)'; BUGTRAQ@SECURITYFOCUS. COM
    > Subject: RE: Windows Update - Unsafe ActiveX control
    > 
    > 
    > > "An ActiveX control on this page is not safe. Your current security
    > settings
    > > prohibit running unsafe controls on this page. As a result, 
    > this page 
    > > may not display as intended." So Microsoft expects me download 
    > > critical patches using an unsafe ActiveX control??
    > 
    > Safe for Scripting indicates that a control does not access 
    > files, memory, or registers directly. The only purpose of the 
    > Windows Update control is to access (and update) files 
    > directly, so it should not be marked as safe for scripting.
    > 
    > -- 
    > Chris Jackson
    > Software Engineer
    > Microsoft MVP
    > -- 
    > 
    > 
    



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