Standard Windows 7 users unable to install ActiveX

Problem

In Windows Vista and Windows 7, standard users are unable to install ActiveX plug-ins.

(For Windows XP Users, go to Controlling ActiveX objects.)

Solution

Standard users can run and install ActiveX on Windows 7 by doing the following steps:

Run gpedit.msc as an Administrator and navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > ActiveX Installer Service.
Right-click Approved Installation Sites for ActiveX Controls and click Edit.
Change Approved Installation Sites for ActiveX Controls to Enabled.
Click the Show... button next to Host URLs.
Add a value name for the website containing the ActiveX installer. (Check the page source code to make sure to add the correct website where the installer is located.) For example:
1. http://pcpitstop.com/ for this webpage http://pcpitstop.com/testax.asp
2. http://www.edrawsoft.com/ for this webpage http://www.ocxt.com/wordviewer.htm
Next to the value name in the value field, add values in this format: 2,2,1,0

The order in which you must use the values in the value field appear in the following tables.

Install ActiveX controls that have trusted publishers

This setting describes the behavior of the service when installing an ActiveX control that has a signed certificate in the Trusted Publishers store for the computer or enterprise. Table 1 shows possible values for this setting.

Table 1: Values for installing ActiveX controls that have trusted signatures

Value	Description
0	Prevents users from installing ActiveX controls that have trusted signatures.
1	Prompts users before installing ActiveX controls that have trusted signatures.
2	Installs ActiveX controls that have trusted signatures without notifying users. This is the default value.

Install signed ActiveX controls

This setting determines the behavior of the service when installing an ActiveX control that does not have a signed certificate in the Trusted Publishers store for the computer or enterprise.

Table 2: Values for installing signed ActiveX controls

Value	Description
0	Prevents users from installing signed ActiveX controls.
1	Prompts users before installing signed ActiveX controls. This is the default value.
2	Installs signed ActiveX controls without notifying users.

Install unsigned ActiveX controls

This setting determines the behavior of the service when installing an unsigned ActiveX control. Table 3 shows possible values for this setting.

Table 3: Values for installing unsigned ActiveX controls

Value	Description
0	Prevents the user from installing unsigned ActiveX controls. This is the default value.
1	Installs unsigned ActiveX controls without notifying the user.

HTTPS error exceptions

This value controls how the ActiveX Installer Service handles any errors that are detected in an HTTPS connection. By default, the ActiveX Installer Service prevents the installation of an ActiveX control if any errors are detected.

Table 4: Values for HTTPS error exceptions

Value	Description
0	Specifies that the connection must pass all verification checks.
0x00000100	Specifies that the ActiveX Installer Service should ignore errors caused by unknown certification authorities (CAs).
0x00001000	Specifies that the ActiveX Installer Service should ignore errors caused by an invalid common name (CN). A CN is a naming attribute from which an object distinguished name (DN) is formed.
0x00002000	Specifies that the ActiveX Installer Service should ignore errors caused by a certificate's date.
0x00000200	Specifies that the ActiveX Installer Service should ignore errors caused by improper certificate use.

For more information about installing ActiveX, go to the following Windows technet article Administering the ActiveX Installer Service in Windows 7.