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Internet Explorer add-ons


mellimik

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Hi there. Would any one of you be able to share insight onto Internet Explorer and add-ons? Specifically, whether they are per user or per system? We have a bunch of Windows Server 2003 servers running with Terminal Services enabled. One software that people run while logged in is browser based, which requires Internet Explorer add-on to function correctly. The website contains a function to test if the add-on has been correctly installed. For some reason the site keeps saying that the add-on is installed when the user is a member of BUILTIN\Administrator, and the opposite if not. The Internet Explorer version we're using is 6 due to number of applications requiring it.

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Hi there. Would any one of you be able to share insight onto Internet Explorer and add-ons? Specifically, whether they are per user or per system? We have a bunch of Windows Server 2003 servers running with Terminal Services enabled. One software that people run while logged in is browser based, which requires Internet Explorer add-on to function correctly. The website contains a function to test if the add-on has been correctly installed. For some reason the site keeps saying that the add-on is installed when the user is a member of BUILTIN\Administrator, and the opposite if not. The Internet Explorer version we're using is 6 due to number of applications requiring it.

Assuming this is a BHO (Browser Helper Object), the configuration should be stored at:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects

If it's a Browser Extension rather than a Helper Object, it will be at:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions

- both are per machine, rather than per user, although there may also be relevant data stored under the HKCU hive, which is specific to the user, not the computer (such as whether to display a toolbar, and what dimensions to make it).

It is also possible to find extensions under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions, which would be per user, although this seems to be rare - and the fact that your add-in works fine for multiple users suggests that this is not the case here.

It could be that the specific BHO/Extension you are using cannot be accessed by non-administrators. Perhaps some files are written somewhere that only admins have access to (such as the user profile of another administrator).

For example, the Adobe Acrobat BHO installs a DLL at C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll. If non-admins didn't have permission to read this file/directory, they would be unable to load the add-on.

It might be time to dig out procmon.exe, and monitor what iexplore.exe is doing when you try to use/view the add-on as both admin and non-admin.

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Hi there. Would any one of you be able to share insight onto Internet Explorer and add-ons? Specifically, whether they are per user or per system? We have a bunch of Windows Server 2003 servers running with Terminal Services enabled. One software that people run while logged in is browser based, which requires Internet Explorer add-on to function correctly. The website contains a function to test if the add-on has been correctly installed. For some reason the site keeps saying that the add-on is installed when the user is a member of BUILTIN\Administrator, and the opposite if not. The Internet Explorer version we're using is 6 due to number of applications requiring it.

Assuming this is a BHO (Browser Helper Object), the configuration should be stored at:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects

If it's a Browser Extension rather than a Helper Object, it will be at:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions

- both are per machine, rather than per user, although there may also be relevant data stored under the HKCU hive, which is specific to the user, not the computer (such as whether to display a toolbar, and what dimensions to make it).

It is also possible to find extensions under HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Extensions, which would be per user, although this seems to be rare - and the fact that your add-in works fine for multiple users suggests that this is not the case here.

It could be that the specific BHO/Extension you are using cannot be accessed by non-administrators. Perhaps some files are written somewhere that only admins have access to (such as the user profile of another administrator).

For example, the Adobe Acrobat BHO installs a DLL at C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll. If non-admins didn't have permission to read this file/directory, they would be unable to load the add-on.

It might be time to dig out procmon.exe, and monitor what iexplore.exe is doing when you try to use/view the add-on as both admin and non-admin.

Much appreciated for the reply. We actually got this issue sorted out by realizing that the problem lied in Local Group Policy. Some one or something had tampered with the security privilege called Create Global Objects. This privilege was assigned to BUILTIN\Administrators and one other group, where some users were members in. The browser add-in relied on this privilege, which was the actual problem. Or to put it another way, we had no problem. It was just that no one even thought of this kind of possibility.

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