Member Avatar for Duoas

Hi all.

I am designing a website for my wife's business, and I am coding it by hand -- pure HTML 4.01 Strict and CSS-1.

When I loaded it into IE 6 (6.0.2900.5512.xpsp_sp3_gdr.090804-1435) I got a message complaining that it had "Active Content". (I am aware it is a result of Eolas's lawsuit.)

I'm not too knowledgeable about all the bells and whistles you can add to a web page, but I am pretty darn certain that I have not added anything that can be reasonably considered "active content".

Which leads me to ask: what kinds of things does MS mean by "Active Content"? All I can find on the web is references to animated GIFs, ActiveX plugins, DHTML, etc -- which I have explicitly not placed on her site. Currently, the site is executing right off my own PC (as one HTML file and one CSS file loaded directly into the browser).

Again, all it has is HTML 4.01 Strict and CSS-1 content, with a couple of old-style tags ('bgcolor' and 'align') to make it downgrade gracefully in old browsers.

Please point me in the right direction to figure out what is causing this abnoxious message.

Thank you!

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Dani AI

Generated

— the quick clue from (local preview shows the warning but the site on a server does not) points to a security quirk in IE: pages opened from the local file system are treated differently than pages served over HTTP. That difference can cause IE to suppress or warn about “active content” even when the markup looks static.

Practical checks and quick fixes:

  • Look at the address bar: file:// vs http://. If it’s file://, try serving the files from a webserver (upload or run a local one) and test again. A tiny local server avoids Local Machine restrictions; for example:
    
# Python 2
python -m SimpleHTTPServer 8000

Python 3

python -m http.server 8000


- If a local server is not an option, temporarily enable the IE option Tools → Internet Options → Advanced → Security → check “Allow active content to run in files on My Computer”, then restart IE. Do not leave this relaxed permanently — it lowers local security.

Troubleshooting steps if the warning persists after serving over HTTP:
- Gradually reduce the page to a minimal HTML file and re-add elements to isolate the trigger.
- Search the source for things that IE considers active: `javascript:` URLs, inline event handlers (`onclick`, `onload`), `<script>`, `<object>`, `<embed>`, `<iframe>`, `<applet>`, or IE-specific CSS like `expression(` or `behavior:`.
- Also check for any absolute references to remote resources (images, stylesheets) that might cause mixed-content/security prompts.

Summary: serving the page over HTTP is the simplest way to confirm whether it’s an IE local-file security restriction. If the warning remains with an HTTP-served page, the minimal-file test will reveal the exact element that IE flags.
Member Avatar for CS_Swan

I have seen this problem often while previewing on my own computer or across the home network. but when uploaded to the webserver everything works fine with no warnings.

Member Avatar for Duoas

Ah, perfect. Hopefully that is all there is to it. Thank you!
(Once it gets up on the webserver I'll test again.)

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