video

For quite some time now, I have been experiencing the annoying “Click to run ActiveX control” error message when playing audio from various web sites, including those providing audio CAPTCHA alternatives. In some cases, the browser would crash completely after pressing the OK button. An example of a page that can cause the issue is the FormShield audio CAPTCHA demonstration. Thanks to Jeff Bishop for finding and resolving this rather frustrating issue. Follow these steps to reset Internet Explorer to its factory defaults, associate all media types to Windows Media Player and reconfigure your desired media player.

Reset Internet Explorer

Warning: Resetting Internet Explorer returns it to original factory defaults, deletes all temporary files and disables browser add-ons. Though resetting Internet Explorer is recommended to assure full resolution of media and other browser issues, you may wish to skip this first step to see if you can resolve the issue without performing a full browser reset. Follow these steps to reset Internet Explorer to its factory default configuration:

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Press Alt+T to open the Tools menu.
3. Press o to open the Internet Options dialogue.
4. Press Shift+Tab to move to the list of Internet Explorer tabs, then press End to navigate to the Advanced page.
5. Press Shift+Tab to move to the Reset… button and press Enter to begin the process of disabling add-ons and completely resetting the browser to its factory defaults.
6. Follow the confirmation prompt by pressing Tab to another Reset button and pressing enter.
7. Press Tab to move to the Close button and press Enter.
8. Press OK to restart Internet Explorer.
9. It is necessary to reconfigure Internet Explorer’s accessibility settings. Press Alt+T followed by o to return to the Internet Options dialogue.
10. Press Shift+Tab to move to the list of Internet Explorer tabs, then press End to navigate to the Advanced page.
11. Press Tab to navigate into the Settings tree view.
12. Press down arrow to navigate to the “Always expand ALT text for images” checkbox and press the space bar to activate this setting.
13. Press down arrow to navigate to the “Move system caret with focus/selection changes” checkbox and press the space bar to activate this setting.
14. Press Shift+Tab twice to navigate to the Apply button and press the space bar.
15. Press Shift+Tab twice to navigate to the OK button and press enter.

Configure Windows Media Player as the Default for all File Types

1. Press Windows Key +M to minimize all applications and focus on the desktop. If Windows Media Player is not found on the desktop, press the Start button, select All Programs and choose Windows Media Player.
2. Arrow to Windows Media Player and press Enter to open the application.
3. Press Alt+T to pull down the Tools menu.
4. Press o to open the Options dialogue.
5. Press Control+Shift+Tab three times to navigate to the File Types page.
6. Press Tab to navigate to the Select All button and press enter.
7. Tab to OK and press enter.
8. Press Alt+F4 to close Windows Media Player.

Reconfigure File Type Associations on the Desired Media Player

If you do not use Windows Media Player exclusively, it will now be necessary to reconfigure the associations in your preferred player. For example, follow these steps to select all file types in Winamp:

1. If you are not already on the desktop, press Windows Key+M to minimize all application windows and return focus to that location.
2. Arrow to Winamp and press Enter to open the application.
3. Press Control+P to open Winamp’s preferences dialogue.
4. Press down arrow until you reach File Types. These options are found under the General Preferences branch of the tree view.
5. Press tab until you reach the All button and press the space bar. This selects all audio and video file types for association to Winamp.
6. Press Shift+Tab until you reach the Close button and press enter to dismiss the preferences dialogue.

After making these changes, you should find that audio CAPTCHAs and other web sites that play inline audio and video content will function properly without presenting the “Click to run ActiveX control” error message or crashing the browser.