Hooked on HTAs

About a year and a half ago, I was using HTML pages for user input forms. I used HTML pages mainly because I needed a way to mask password input. Believe me, it was just the most basic of HTML pages because I'm far from being a Web developer.

The HTML pages were working fine, but then came the onslaught of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) patches and Windows service packs that started nailing down IE. I found that after installing these patches and service packs, my scripts were being challenged. I could no longer just double-click my program and enter the data. Now I had to respond to new security prompts before my page was actually ready to accept input. The challenges had to do with what is now considered restricted or active content—mainly, scripts and ActiveX components within the HTML code. I could only stand having to click my way through these new security prompts so long before I decided I had to come up with an alternative. Plus, I knew other administrators were using my scripts and that I'd soon be getting email messages and telephone calls from them. . . .