Blocking Comet Cursor

[Andrew Mutch]

One of the more annoying security bugs I have encountered on my Internet workstations is patrons downloading the Comet Cursor application.  For those not familiar with Comet Cursor, it is an application that causes the mouse pointer to change appearance when you visit a CC "enhanced" site.  Comet Cursor has also been shown to collect
information about your browsing habits without your knowledge.  Despite the 3rd party security on the Internet workstations, patrons were still able to get Comet Cursor installed.  What I discovered is that Internet Explorer allows ActiveX controls to "auto-install" applications, bypassing the workstation security in the process.
Fortunately, IE also allows you to block the "auto-install" process for applications of your choosing.  So, I have written up another graphical help sheet to explain how to do that.  If you too are suffering from Comet Cursor, learn how to stop it from cluttering up your workstations.  The help sheet is available directly at:

http://northville.lib.mi.us/tech/blockcc.htm

and through my main page on locking down Netscape and Internet Explorer in Public Libraries at:

http://northville.lib.mi.us/tech/netscape.html

If you have any questions, please contact me directly!

Andrew Mutch
Library Systems Technician
Waterford Township Public Library
Waterford, MI