ActiveX

1. What is ActiveX in Browser Fingerprinting

ActiveX was a Microsoft proprietary browser technology used in Internet Explorer (IE) to embed objects or enable system-level interaction based on COM (Component Object Model). Most modern browsers, including all based on Blink or Gecko (like FlashID’s engines), have no support for ActiveX by default.

However, some legacy browser detection systems — especially in China’s banking, ERP, or enterprise environments — still check for ActiveX artifacts to determine if a browser has IE-like characteristics or is compliant with traditional desktop software ecosystems.

Although entirely useless today, ActiveX still reveals whether a browser is modern spoofed or legacy supported, so it has become a red herring for detection algorithms.

2. How Platforms Detect ActiveX Fingerprinting

Platforms that still rely on ActiveX detection often:

1. Check for ActiveXObject in environment (i.e., if typeof ActiveXObject == "function", assume IE desktop user)
2. Probe for COM controls, such as:

   new ActiveXObject("WScript.Shell")
   new ActiveXObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
   

3. Detect IE-specific navigation behaviors, such as:

• Document modes (document.documentMode)
• UserAgent artifacts from WinINET or legacy Trident

4. Force detection scripts that error modern browsers

• This behavior is sneaky: platforms may log JavaScript errors or unusual behavior caused by missing ActiveX features like "Automation Server" unavailable.

Also, some semi-automated workflows used in identity verification systems (such as China’s telecom or finance sector) inject FlashID-style browser capabilities with unexpected conditions – like assuming your browser should fail silently, but yours tries to look authentic — so error simulation becomes key.

3. How FlashID Handles ActiveX Fingerprinting

Since FlashID uses Chromium and Firefox-based kernels and does not support ActiveX (by architecture), we focus on helping profiles pass checks safely, without exposing a lack of compatibility that could indicate automation.

You May Also Like