ActiveX Installation (UAC)
ActiveX Installation Issues
ActiveX controls must be installed by an administrator. ActiveX controls are typically used in LOB applications to extend Web browser capabilities to create more flexible user interfaces or to elevate access to computer resources normally denied to applications running within the Web browser. ActiveX controls are typically installed by embedding a reference to the ActiveX control in a Web page. This will cause Microsoft Internet Explorer® to download and install the control if it does not exist on the local computer. Typically, ActiveX controls downloaded in this way reside in the %HOMEPATH%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files directory, which is writable by standard users. However, to function within Internet Explorer, the controls must have multiple-registry entries, which standard users cannot access.
Resolution
Removing the ActiveX control from the application almost always results in a loss of functionality. Therefore, this is not recommended for remediation unless the ActiveX control is providing some visual or functional enhancement that is not part of the site's core functionality. An example is a stock ticker on a non-stock–related portal.
In most cases, packaging the ActiveX control for installation by SMS or Group Policy is the correct solution. However, most of the controls will not be included in the base image, so Web sites must modify their pages to fail gracefully. This should comprise detecting the missing ActiveX control and redirecting to the Managed Desktop software request page.