Internet Explorer Add-on Manager

When Microsoft released Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, it included several new security technologies. One of these technologies was the Internet Explorer (IE) Add-on Manager. The way this feature works is by allowing you to easily manage ActiveX controls that IE uses.

To manage add-ons in IE, follow the steps below:

• Launch the Internet Explorer
• From the Tools menu, select Internet Options...
• Click the Programs tab.
• Press the Manage Add-ons button

From here you should see the Add-On Manager dialog containing a list of ActiveX controls, Browser Helper Objects, and Browser Extensions. Go through each of them and disable any of them that you don't use or need.

Note: By disabling any of the ActiveX controls, you could also be disabling certain web site functionality that you may need. For example, don't disable the Flash control unless you seriously want to disable a lot of features that are used by several different web sites.