 A captured image of Active X is seen in this file photo. / Korea Times file |
By Yoon Ja-young
Many Internet users find Web browsers Google Chrome and Firefox more convenient than Internet Explorer (IE), but users here often stay with the latter due to the prevalence of Active X technology.
Over 80 percent of the country’s Internet sites still use this technology, which is not only vulnerable to malicious code, but also damages consumers’ right to freely choose the Web browser they want.
According to the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), 168 sites out of the country’s 200 major Internet sites, 100 of them private and the other public, use Active X for payment settlements and security.
The software, which is only on Microsoft’s earlier IE browsers, automatically installs programs necessary for using Web services, such as security, verification and payment.
Though the technology aims at improving Internet users’ convenience, it often slows down computers and is used as a doorway by hackers to spread malicious code.
Internet users wanting to engage in commerce have no option but to use the Microsoft browser, and as a result IE has an 80 percent share of the browser market here while its ratio has fallen to below 40 percent globally.
Moreover, there are compatibility problems with mobile devices as an increasing number of people use smartphones.
Among private sites, KB, Hana Bank and NH heavily used Active X applications; KB, 11; Hana, 10; NH, nine. KB has recently changed its Web site to an open one supporting diverse browsers.
Among portals, Paran was using eight Active X applications, followed by DreamWiz, Chollian and SayClub. Online shopping malls were also heavily using them ― open market operator 11st topped the list with 10; Lotte I Mall had eight as did AK Mall. Among game sites, Net Marble had 12; Hangame, 10; and Game Tree, nine.
The public sector was also heavily resorting to Active X, despite recent government efforts to decrease it. Among the 100 public Internet sites, 82 sites were using on average 3.7 Active X applications, while 89 out of 100 private sites used an average of 3.9. Among the public sites, the Financial Supervisory Service was using seven, followed by Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute and Government Employees Pension Service with six, each.
“The use of Active X is decreasing, but it is still preferred in finance and security sectors,” an official at the KCC explained. The regulator has made it obligatory for government Web services to support at least three different Web browsers. It has also been checking Web compatibility each year.
According to Kim Ki-chang, a professor at Korea University who has led the open Web campaign here, the Financial Supervisory Service is the most responsible. “Electronic financial transactions are the core of all Internet-based transactions. Whether it is content or service, there is no industry or business without payment being executed.”
Active X came to dominate the Internet here after the financial regulator forced the use of the public-key certificate and security programs. The industry believed that this was the easiest way to satisfy demand. As it functions on IE, and as the government didn’t take any action to promote diversity among browsers, the Microsoft browser became the only option for those downloading public-key certificates for online banking transactions.
He said it ended up marginalizing the local market from the latest technology trends, and advised that one should encourage openness, competition and compatibility instead of forcing use of a certain technology.
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