Internet Explorer Script Warnings
 Problem
When trying a lesson, survey or test as web pages you may sometimes see this warning. It only affects users with Internet Explorer version on Windows XP Service Pack 2.
(A problem with Firefox 2.0 is explained here).
Is this really an issue?
No. Question Tools content can be run quite safely on your computer. There is more explanation as to why Microsoft has inserted this warning, but if you want you can just stop here, safe in the knowledge that Question Tools automatically-generated content is not going to harm your computer or do anything terrible.
Will my users see this ugly warning?
No. This warning is only shown by Internet Explorer when web pages with scripts are run from the hard disk or a CD-ROM. Once you put your web pages up on a web site Internet Explorer considers them to be in a different domain (not localhost) and does not show the warning.
Can I get rid of this message?
Yes. You can either use another web browser, such as the well-respected FireFox browser, or you can turn off the script warnings. To do this select the Tools menu in Internet Explorer, and then select Internet Options. Select the Advanced tab, and scroll down to the Security settings. You then need to enable the settings called Allow active content to run files on my computer. However, we recommend that you use another browser rather than disabling the script warnings, for the reasons explained below.
Why have Microsoft inserted this warning?
Web browsers have a scripting language called Javascript (and Internet Explorer also has VB Script). While scripts can do quite a lot, they are prevented from saving files, and a lot of other things that could be used by a virus author to cause damage to a computer.
The big mistake. Microsoft wanted to use Internet Explorer for more than just web browsing. Consequently, Microsoft programmed Internet Explorer to allow scripts, in some circumstances, to have access to all sorts of things other web browsers would not permit. When run in the host domain (straight from the hard disk) a script in Internet Explorer can do a lot of harm. In short, Microsoft's decision to make almost any object scriptable, and to allow scripts in Internet Explorer to go beyond what could be achieved in other web browsers has caught up with it, as many predicted it would. The fact that malicious scripts can even be inserted into JPEG graphics files and execute under Windows is clear evidence of the effects an ill-considered security strategy.
The crude response. Microsoft has decided to disable any script that attempts to run in a web page that is on a hard disk — any script, no matter how small, trivial or unthreatening. Other browsers, such as Netscape, Opera and FireFox, do not need to use such a crude control. This block makes it difficult for anyone to test their scripts (or their Question Tools content) when run from the hard disk. A way around this crude response is to turn off script blocking in Internet Explorer, but this is there for a reason — because there are security holes in Internet Explorer. Question Tools scripts run in Internet Explorer from the hard disk are not a risk, but other scripts could be, and so disabling script blocking is a risky long-term approach. This is why we recommend our users consider testing in FireFox or Opera.
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