Featured Links

Other Topics
Sponsored Links







Quote of the Day

"My constituency is the desperate, the damned, the disinherited, the disrespected and the despised."

Jesse Jackson





Click here for eBay Motors!


 






 
Featured Web Design Articles

7 Things to Look for When Hiring a Web Designer
Whether you're hiring a designer who has created 10 sites or 1000 sites for other businesses, there are 10 things every website should do for you. 1. Be wary of companies who charge by the hour and don't put on a cap! There isn't a regulated ...

Learn from the Masters (of Web Design)
If you've ever been to the Louvre, you know it'schock full of art students, who spend hours in themuseum with their sketchpads, copying the works ofthe Masters. Poets do it too; that's why English majorsspend hours doing "close readings" of Shakespeare ...

Web-Design Guidelines
It's not enough to know *how* to create a web site, you also needto know what makes a *good* web site. Think back on some of theweb sites you've visited recently. Were you impressed by all ofthem? Probably not. Many web sites are technically fine, but ...




Bad Web Design: ActiveX
 
ActiveX uses an interesting method for enforcing security ... it doesn't.
Well, that's not exactly true. What happens is when a web page requests an
ActiveX control the browser determines if that control is already loaded
onto your system. If it is the ActiveX control is executed. If not, the user
is asked if it is okay to install the control. Additional information about
where the control came from and it's security implications is also included.

The theory behind this security model is the user knows what's best for his
system. In my humble opinion, this is pure hogwash (a stronger expletive
came to mind but this is a family site). Is your average web surfer really
knowledgeable enough to make a decision like this? Look at it this way, by
installing an ActiveX control you are assuming it is secure, won't damage
your system and is bug-free. You are basically trusting completely the
company which created the control, the developers and the people
distributing the image.

Yes there are security certificates involved, but those are relatively easy
to get. Also remember how many security problems have been reported
involving ActiveX controls.

I don't know about you, but when I get that little box stating a site wants
to install an ActiveX control, my first impulse is to hit the NO box,
quickly followed by the BACK key. This may seem a bit paranoid, but I use my
computer all day long and I depend upon it for business and pleasure. Why
would I want to put it at any risk for some silly little ActiveX control?
The web is a huge place and there are plenty of other sites to look at.

My advice to anyone is generally don't allow ActiveX controls to be
installed from anywhere except for really big sites like Microsoft. It's
just too difficult to judge how safe or unsafe the control happens to be.

How is this different from Java? Well, Java has an entirely different
security model which does not make the assumption that the user has been
educated about the specific Java applet. Java sets specific rules to what an
applet can and cannot do, and generally these rules do an excellent job of
preventing damage to a system (there have been bugs but no where near as
many as with ActiveX).

On top of the security concerns, ActiveX only works in Internet Explorer.
Yes, I know there is a plug in for Netscape but it's slow and not very
usable. Besides, most Netscape users don't have it installed.
If you are designing a web site, please consider this very carefully. If you
include ActiveX controls you are losing as many as 50 percent of your
visitors. Perhaps more, depending upon your market.
Is any functionality that you might gain worth that cost?

Of course, if you are creating an Intranet (a web local to a company) then
by all means use all of the ActiveX controls that you want. In this case,
you have far more control over the user environment that you have on the
web.

About the Author
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This
website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet
profits, enjoyment and knowledge.
Web Site Address: http://www.internet-tips.net
Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm
Daily Tips: mailto:internet-tips@GetResponse.com




Google


Web Design News

Warning: Call-time pass-by-reference has been deprecated - argument passed by value; If you would like to pass it by reference, modify the declaration of xml_set_object(). If you would like to enable call-time pass-by-reference, you can set allow_call_time_pass_reference to true in your INI file. However, future versions may not support this any longer. in /mnt/web7/31/89/51742389/htdocs/webdesign/rss1.php on line 36


How to Build a Small-Business Web Site, Part 3: Advanced Design
TechNewsWorld, CA - 10 hours ago
Beyond the basics, when it comes to the subtleties of Web design, planning is everything -- from getting a handle on user needs and behavior to figuring out ...

Aplus.net Adds to Web Design Packages
Web Host Industry Review - 2 hours ago
According to the company's announcement this week, Aplus.net's web design division WebImage now features two new website design plans available in ...
Web Host Aplus.net Offers New Dedicated Servers and Website Design ... HostSearch.com
Aplus.net Enhances Web Design Packages, Adds New Dedicated Servers HostReview.com (press release)
all 6 news articles

Web Design Tips: Rounded Borders in CSS
Practical Ecommerce (subscription), Grand Junction - 7 hours ago
In this -Web Design Tips-, a recurring Practical eCommerce feature, I'll show you how to use CSS alone to bend the corners of your site's border elements. ...

Rapid City firm hired to design Palace Web site
Daily Republic, SD - 8 hours ago
The Marketing Store’s Web design experience includes a recent redesign of the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center site, which was done in conjunction with the ...

Adweek

Google Doesn't Care About Website Design
Meadow Free Press, ID - Jan 6, 2009
For example if I were to type 'web design Barnsley' into Google, they would want to return the most useful websites that were genuinely relevant to the ...
Search Shifts and Predictions for 2009 Search Engine Watch
all 59 news articles