ActiveX? - A Meeting of Minds

tameeria · Oct 27 2006, 10:33 AM

Hi all!

I just went through the registration procedure and noticed two things:

1) Every time I try to open a new page within the forum, my antivirus program pops up an alert: "The web page you are trying to view contains an ActiveX control." After a number of run-ins with viruses, I always block ActiveX unless I am absolutely certain what it is doing.

What is the ActiveX on the MoM pages and what is it for? It seems everything here is functional when I block it. I can post ok etc., I just get those pop-ups all the time.

2) The forum rules appear as white letters on pale blue background, which makes them really hard to read. It might be better to either have them as dark text, or to make the background of that particular textbox darker so that the white letters stand out more. I hope I don't come across as nitpickety, but I figured since you likely see that page only when you register, I'll make a note before I forget about it.

**Cheryl** · Oct 27 2006, 10:48 AM

Hans -- would it be the MQ flash? I can't think what else would invoke activeX

I'll have to go look at the forum rules thing, see if I can figure out why that is and fix it!

Welcome to the forum Tameeria!

***Hans*** · Oct 27 2006, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheryl

Hans -- would it be the MQ flash? I can't think what else would invoke activeX

I'll have to go look at the forum rules thing, see if I can figure out why that is and fix it!

Welcome to the forum Tameeria!

Welcome tameeria!

Yes, Cheryl, Tameeria; that could well be the temporary flash object.

Tameeria, if you heed the warning but go on nonetheless you should be able to use the site as you should but you should NOT see a moving flash object announcing McCaffreyQuest 2006 right under the site's banner with the keyboard. Is that correct?
As far as I know the VBulltein board does not use activex. If you don't see te flash object moving indeed than you can either accept the activex (because it's safe) or ignore it; the message then should not be appearing anymore shortly after November 3rd

tameeria · Oct 27 2006, 11:11 AM

That's right, I don't see anything moving, so I guess that's it.

***Hans*** · Oct 27 2006, 11:32 AM

Thought so

Cheryl was right.

It's a temporary thing.

Lady Maelin · Oct 27 2006, 11:28 PM

The Genius team of Cheryl and Hans to the rescue once again....Way to go you two..

Welcome Tameeria, I hope you enjoy the site and all the lovely members that are here.

Brightwing · Oct 28 2006, 03:55 AM

I'm glad it's temporary. It makes the browser sluggish until I can scroll down far enough so that the banner no longer shows on the screen. I was trying to find a way to disable it so the forum loads faster. Any ideas how to disable it?

Brightwing · Oct 28 2006, 03:59 AM

Never mind, I figured it out. But the board is still sluggish when each page first loads. I've never experienced this except once before with a really graphics-intensive theme on a message board.

I shall investigate further

***Hans*** · Oct 28 2006, 05:09 AM

I've never heard the board being sluggish before

with or without flash

Can you give me your PC and browser details, Brightwing?
And are you able to switch to another browser (or download one) to seeif that might be an imporvement. From Internet Explorer it's known that of the cache is very large it grows sluggush, and a lot of people don't even realise that cach is filling up and represents many hundreds of megabytes sometimes...)

edith · Oct 28 2006, 05:15 AM

hang on... are you on dial up, cos I sometimes have trouble at home with banners- not here, but that was before the new banner- BBC news was particulary bad.

Brightwing · Oct 28 2006, 06:16 AM

I'm running a brand new Dell: WinXP Pro, 1GB RAM, with a centrino duo processor and some stupidly over-beefy motherboard for what I use it for. I'm running the latest version of IE6. I'm on a wireless DSL connection. My cache is set to the minimum it can go (1MB).

Once the page loads it is fine, but each page loads much slower than a message board should. AMCF, BPOI, Pern Alliance and TradeMe are the other message boards I frequent and they load in an eyeblink. It has improved since I've disabled the activex control. Now it just has a slow spot when the browser brings up the little activex information bar, which happens every time I click to go to a different page. Once the page is loaded and the information bar has popped up, there is no 'sluggishness'.

granath · Oct 28 2006, 07:23 AM

Have you tried enabling this particular activeX control? I've never had any problems with activeX, and while many haven't been quite so lucky, I do trust Hans not to misuse it with his banner.

Greenrider Tresa · Oct 28 2006, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brightwing

I'm running a brand new Dell: WinXP Pro, 1GB RAM, with a centrino duo processor and some stupidly over-beefy motherboard for what I use it for. I'm running the latest version of IE6. I'm on a wireless DSL connection. My cache is set to the minimum it can go (1MB).

Once the page loads it is fine, but each page loads much slower than a message board should. AMCF, BPOI, Pern Alliance and TradeMe are the other message boards I frequent and they load in an eyeblink. It has improved since I've disabled the activex control. Now it just has a slow spot when the browser brings up the little activex information bar, which happens every time I click to go to a different page. Once the page is loaded and the information bar has popped up, there is no 'sluggishness'.

Brightwing - have you defragmented your C drive? My Dell was slow until I did thqat. And it was only about 5-6 months old at the time.

***Hans*** · Oct 28 2006, 04:20 PM

I think she only experienced the problem with this board, Tresa, not with the computer in general.

Brightwing · Nov 1 2006, 06:00 AM

Yes, Hans, you're absolutely right. It's just this board. Never mind, I'll let you know what it's like after the activeX banner is gone. If that doesn't fix it, then it's something else that isn't agreeing with my computer or my connection.

I have to say, it's not hugely slow. But because I DO have such a fast computer and a DSL connection, I've gotten very used to things loading very fast. In comparison to everything ELSE it's slow. My mum would probably say this site loads super fast by her standards because she's on a rural dial-up connection. It's a matter of relativity.

tameeria · Nov 1 2006, 08:41 AM

Try using Firefox instead of IE.

Other than that, have you checked what your antivirus program is doing when you go to the site? Some do scan webpages (e.g. mine scans and warns about the ActiveX control on the page) and that can slow things down significantly on pages that contain more than just plain old HTML code.

***Hans*** · Nov 1 2006, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Yes, Hans, you're absolutely right. It's just this board. Never mind, I'll let you know what it's like after the activeX banner is gone. If that doesn't fix it, then it's something else that isn't agreeing with my computer or my connection.

I'd appreciate that, Bonnie

tameeria · Nov 8 2006, 10:27 PM

Woo, pop-up warnings are gone! Must've been the banner then.

Brightwing · Nov 9 2006, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hans

I'd appreciate that, Bonnie

Bonnie?

Anyway, the banner is gone and the board is running much faster! Yay.

***Hans*** · Nov 9 2006, 04:08 AM

We'll we all were pretty certain it was the banner. We don't often use them, actually I think the only time we use them is for the quest

But next time you know you can just tell the browser to trust the content. I make the darn things myself, so I know they're safe

Oct 27 2006, 10:33 AM	#1
tameeria Inactive Join Date: Oct 2006 Gender: F	ActiveX? Hi all! I just went through the registration procedure and noticed two things: 1) Every time I try to open a new page within the forum, my antivirus program pops up an alert: "The web page you are trying to view contains an ActiveX control." After a number of run-ins with viruses, I always block ActiveX unless I am absolutely certain what it is doing. What is the ActiveX on the MoM pages and what is it for? It seems everything here is functional when I block it. I can post ok etc., I just get those pop-ups all the time. 2) The forum rules appear as white letters on pale blue background, which makes them really hard to read. It might be better to either have them as dark text, or to make the background of that particular textbox darker so that the white letters stand out more. I hope I don't come across as nitpickety, but I figured since you likely see that page only when you register, I'll make a note before I forget about it.

Oct 27 2006, 10:48 AM	#2
Cheryl Master Archivist Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Maryland, USA Gender: F Fan of: Pern! Now Reading: Paladin of Souls (Bujold)	Re: ActiveX? Hans -- would it be the MQ flash? I can't think what else would invoke activeX I'll have to go look at the forum rules thing, see if I can figure out why that is and fix it! Welcome to the forum Tameeria! __________________ Visit one of the other sites of Cheryl's Anne McCaffrey Triad: Sariel's Guide to Pern: a detailed guide to the series The Many Works of Anne McCaffrey: largest fan site about Anne and ALL of her works McCaffrey Quest: annual trivia contest.

Oct 27 2006, 11:11 AM	#4
tameeria Inactive Join Date: Oct 2006 Gender: F	Re: ActiveX? That's right, I don't see anything moving, so I guess that's it.

Oct 27 2006, 11:32 AM	#5
*Hans* Master Archivist Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: The Netherlands Gender: M Fan of: Pern!	Re: ActiveX? Thought so Cheryl was right. It's a temporary thing. __________________ Hans, also known as Elrhan, Master Archivist Visit The Pern Museum & Archives for all your Pern and Anne McCaffrey News and Resources! The Pern Museum & Archives is the home of the Pern Encyclopedia and the Pern Bloodlines.

Oct 27 2006, 11:28 PM	#6
Lady Maelin Master Artist Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: California Gender: F Fan of: Pern,The Ship Who Sang Now Reading: Anne's Pern EVERYTHING !	Re: ActiveX? The Genius team of Cheryl and Hans to the rescue once again....Way to go you two.. Welcome Tameeria, I hope you enjoy the site and all the lovely members that are here. __________________ "To the Horsehead Nebula and back we shall make beautiful music"..."Together!" The stories of childhood leave an indelible impression,and their author always has a niche in the temple of memory from which the image is never cut out to be thrown on the rubbish heap of things that are outgrown and outlived........Howard Pyle

Oct 28 2006, 03:55 AM	#7
Brightwing Inactive Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NZ Gender: F	Re: ActiveX? I'm glad it's temporary. It makes the browser sluggish until I can scroll down far enough so that the banner no longer shows on the screen. I was trying to find a way to disable it so the forum loads faster. Any ideas how to disable it?

Oct 28 2006, 03:59 AM	#8
Brightwing Inactive Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NZ Gender: F	Re: ActiveX? Never mind, I figured it out. But the board is still sluggish when each page first loads. I've never experienced this except once before with a really graphics-intensive theme on a message board. I shall investigate further

Oct 28 2006, 05:09 AM	#9
*Hans* Master Archivist Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: The Netherlands Gender: M Fan of: Pern!	Re: ActiveX? I've never heard the board being sluggish before with or without flash Can you give me your PC and browser details, Brightwing? And are you able to switch to another browser (or download one) to seeif that might be an imporvement. From Internet Explorer it's known that of the cache is very large it grows sluggush, and a lot of people don't even realise that cach is filling up and represents many hundreds of megabytes sometimes...) __________________ Hans, also known as Elrhan, Master Archivist Visit The Pern Museum & Archives for all your Pern and Anne McCaffrey News and Resources! The Pern Museum & Archives is the home of the Pern Encyclopedia and the Pern Bloodlines.

Oct 28 2006, 05:15 AM	#10
edith Dragonrider Weyrwoman Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Delft Gender: F Fan of: Most of them :) Now Reading: Don't You Have Time To Think- RP Feynman	Re: ActiveX? hang on... are you on dial up, cos I sometimes have trouble at home with banners- not here, but that was before the new banner- BBC news was particulary bad.

Oct 28 2006, 06:16 AM	#11
Brightwing Inactive Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NZ Gender: F	Re: ActiveX? I'm running a brand new Dell: WinXP Pro, 1GB RAM, with a centrino duo processor and some stupidly over-beefy motherboard for what I use it for. I'm running the latest version of IE6. I'm on a wireless DSL connection. My cache is set to the minimum it can go (1MB). Once the page loads it is fine, but each page loads much slower than a message board should. AMCF, BPOI, Pern Alliance and TradeMe are the other message boards I frequent and they load in an eyeblink. It has improved since I've disabled the activex control. Now it just has a slow spot when the browser brings up the little activex information bar, which happens every time I click to go to a different page. Once the page is loaded and the information bar has popped up, there is no 'sluggishness'.

Oct 28 2006, 07:23 AM	#12
granath Talent Tower Prime Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Proud Mom! Gender: F Fan of: Afra Lyon Now Reading: PiF	Re: ActiveX? Have you tried enabling this particular activeX control? I've never had any problems with activeX, and while many haven't been quite so lucky, I do trust Hans not to misuse it with his banner. __________________ Decaf coffee is an oxymoron. Instant coffee is an abomination. Give me the real thing and nobody gets hurt. "Do. Or do not. There is no try" -- Yoda VP of the Afra Lyon fan club!

Oct 28 2006, 04:20 PM	#14
*Hans* Master Archivist Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: The Netherlands Gender: M Fan of: Pern!	Re: ActiveX? I think she only experienced the problem with this board, Tresa, not with the computer in general. __________________ Hans, also known as Elrhan, Master Archivist Visit The Pern Museum & Archives for all your Pern and Anne McCaffrey News and Resources! The Pern Museum & Archives is the home of the Pern Encyclopedia and the Pern Bloodlines.

Nov 1 2006, 06:00 AM	#15
Brightwing Inactive Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NZ Gender: F	Re: ActiveX? Yes, Hans, you're absolutely right. It's just this board. Never mind, I'll let you know what it's like after the activeX banner is gone. If that doesn't fix it, then it's something else that isn't agreeing with my computer or my connection. I have to say, it's not hugely slow. But because I DO have such a fast computer and a DSL connection, I've gotten very used to things loading very fast. In comparison to everything ELSE it's slow. My mum would probably say this site loads super fast by her standards because she's on a rural dial-up connection. It's a matter of relativity.

Nov 1 2006, 08:41 AM	#16
tameeria Inactive Join Date: Oct 2006 Gender: F	Re: ActiveX? Try using Firefox instead of IE. Other than that, have you checked what your antivirus program is doing when you go to the site? Some do scan webpages (e.g. mine scans and warns about the ActiveX control on the page) and that can slow things down significantly on pages that contain more than just plain old HTML code.

Nov 8 2006, 10:27 PM	#18
tameeria Inactive Join Date: Oct 2006 Gender: F	Re: ActiveX? Woo, pop-up warnings are gone! Must've been the banner then.

Nov 9 2006, 04:08 AM	#20
*Hans* Master Archivist Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: The Netherlands Gender: M Fan of: Pern!	Re: ActiveX? We'll we all were pretty certain it was the banner. We don't often use them, actually I think the only time we use them is for the quest But next time you know you can just tell the browser to trust the content. I make the darn things myself, so I know they're safe __________________ Hans, also known as Elrhan, Master Archivist Visit The Pern Museum & Archives for all your Pern and Anne McCaffrey News and Resources! The Pern Museum & Archives is the home of the Pern Encyclopedia and the Pern Bloodlines.