Internet Explorer ActiveX compatibility patch for Mshtml.dll

When you deploy this patch, it disables the behavior of the Internet Explorer ActiveX patch that is contained in update KB912812. The security updates that are contained in update KB912812 are still present and are still functional. Only the Internet Explorer ActiveX patch behavior that is described in update KB912945 is disabled.
For more information about the KB912812 update, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

912812 MS06-013: Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer

This compatibility patch can only be installed on systems that are running the Internet Explorer April Cumulative Update (KB912812). If you try to install this patch on systems without update 912812, the installation will fail.

We strongly recommend that this compatibility patch be deployed only to systems that are affected by the new functionality that is introduced by the Internet Explorer ActiveX update. Affected systems are those where the user depends on a Web page or on an application that has been affected by the Internet Explorer ActiveX update. For more information about how Web pages or applications can be affected, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

912945 Internet Explorer ActiveX update

We encourage our partners to test and to redesign affected Web applications. Owners of applications that require user interaction with ActiveX controls can use technologies to avoid user activation. For information about these technologies, visit the following MSDN Web site:

Testing

For testing, there is a feature control registry subkey that turns on the Internet Explorer ActiveX behavior. This registry subkey and its value are as follows:You must replace <process_name.exe> with the name of the process for which you want to enable the ActiveX update behavior. For example, to enable the ActiveX update behavior for Internet Explorer, you would replace <process_name.exe> with iexplore.exe.

Deployment

We strongly recommend that you apply this patch only to computers where there is a compatibility problem between an existing application and the new behavior that is introduced in update 912945 and described in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 912812. This section lists several, but not all, deployment options. You should follow the standard hotfix deployment process for your environment. This article contains some details that are specific to deployment. However, this article is intended as a reference for some, but not all, deployment options.

The deployment process consists of the following steps:

1. Identify applicable computers.
2. Apply the update to those computers.
   

Restart requirement

Installation of this compatibility patch may require a restart if the Mshtml.dll file is being used during installation.

Identifying applicable computers

Microsoft Knowledge Base article 917425 (KB917425) can be applied to a computer where Internet Explorer ActiveX behavior has a compatibility problem with an application on the computer. To determine whether KB917425 applies to a computer programmatically, you must have a guaranteed method of determining whether a computer has the affected ActiveX software. Work with the software application’s vendor to determine that method. To manually determine whether KB917425 applies to a computer, use the following methods.

• Use Active Directory organizational units
  If an environment is supported by the Active Directory directory service and if an existing Active Directory organizational unit contains all applicable computers, apply a Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) software update package to the organizational unit.
  
  
  
  Note SMS Active Directory discovery must be enabled to use this method.
  
• Use SMS Software Inventory to create a custom collection
  For environments that use SMS to deploy software to computers, an administrator can create a custom collection that is based on any number of factors. These factors include a query of computers that have the affected software package. This query can be based on the results of SMS Software Inventory. For information about how to implement software inventory that includes creating custom collections, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc180952.aspx
• Create a custom detection tool that identifies applicable computers
  Create a script or a small executable program that determines whether the computer has the affected software package. This tool can run as part of a logon script, can be delivered as a SMS Software Update Package, or can be put on an internal network share that users can access.

Applying the update to applicable computers

How to use SMS

If you are using Active Directory organizational units or SMS Software Inventory to identify computers to update, you can use SMS 2.0 and SMS 2003 to deploy the 917425 package to affected computers. To do this, use the SMS software distribution feature. To see a high-level walk-through of the process, visit the following Microsoft Web site: For more information, see the Systems Management Server 2003 Operations Guide. To view this guide, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Package definition file

To help customers use SMS to deploy the 917425 package, we are including the contents of a sample SMS package definition file (PDF) that can be used to create the software distribution package and the programs in the SMS Administrator console.



To use the sample PDF, copy the following text to a Notepad file, and then save the file as KB917425.SMS. Copy this file to the same directory where the download update was saved.
After the PDF and the update packages have been saved to the same directory, follow these steps:

1. Run the Create Package from Definition Wizard. To do this, right-click any existing package, click All Tasks, and then click Create Package from Definition.
2. Import the PDF to create the package and the programs that you want to use for deployment.
   
   

Notes

• 64-bit client deployments are only supported by SMS 2003 SP2 and later versions. If you have any earlier versions of SMS, you must delete the last two sections (WS03IA64, WinXPWS03x64) in the PDF. You must also remove WS03IA64 and WinXPWS03x64 from the "Programs=" line in the "[Package Definition]=" section.
  
  
• If you use SMS to deploy any one of the localized versions of this patch, you need a separate version of the PDF for each language. To create a PDF for another language, replace the “CommandLine” value in the sample PDF with the name of the actual language specific package. For example, for the German version of Windows XP SP2 (x86) , use the following value.

  CommandLine=WindowsXP-KB917425-DEU.exe /quiet /norestart

For detailed information about how to create and deploy packages, see the Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 Operations Guide.

How to use a custom method to apply the 917425 package

Assume the script or the executable program that you developed to determine whether the 917425 package is applicable has found an affected computer. At this point, the script or executable program could:

• Run the 917425 package from an internal network share where you have saved the package.
  
• Download the 917425 package from a Microsoft download site. In this case, the user must allow the package to run.
  
• Point the user to the 917425 package download location to install manually.

Download information

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Compatibility Patch for Internet Explorer for Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 (SP2) and for Windows XP Home Edition with SP2 Compatibility Patch for Internet Explorer for Windows Server 2003 SP1 Compatibility Patch for Internet Explorer for Windows Server 2003 SP1, Itanium-based versions Compatibility Patch for Internet Explorer for Windows Server 2003, x64-based versions Compatibility Patch for Internet Explorer for Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Release Date: April 11, 2006

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.
Internet Explorer for Windows Server 2003 SP1, Itanium-based versions
Internet Explorer for Windows XP SP2
Internet Explorer for Windows Server 2003, x64-based versions
Internet Explorer for Windows Server 2003 SP1