Sorry folks, a bit more info:
This is the message I get when I open Excel: "This condition is related to
how ActiveX controls are initialized within Office applications. ActiveX
controls are programs and can store data in either the registry or within the
control itself. ActiveX controls are similar to Visual Basic for Applications
macros except they are compiled to a special file type and can be linked to a
data file that can support them (for instance, Word documents and Excel
workbooks). When you receive a file with an ActiveX control linked to it, the
possibility that there may be "persistent" data (data stored with the
control) is unknown; the data could be malicious - used to plant a virus or
to modify your computer with the intent to do harm. Office applications
provide, by default, the ability to block ActiveX controls from using
persisted data. However, if you have specifically changed the default setting
for ActiveX initialization during the installation process, or by using a
policy, the system will perform the initialization of the ActiveX control
based on your custom settings.
If you choose to allow the application to run the control and to allow it to
use persisted data, you do so at your own risk. It is highly recommended to
not run ActiveX controls in documents submitted to you by people you do not
know. However, if you trust the source of the document and the individual or
company who sent it to you, then you can load the control and allow it to use
persisted data. However, this is no guarantee that the data associated with
the control is actually safe to use.
There are limitations to the ability of Office applications to migrate
ActiveX control link references from one format of a document or file to
another format. For instance, you can link an ActiveX control to a Word
document and save that file. However, when you convert that Word document to
another format the link reference to the ActiveX control might not convert
into that file format. Therefore, conversion of files that have links to
ActiveX controls may not be supported for all file types, partly because not
all file types can support ActiveX control linking or activation. For files
with links to ActiveX controls, it is necessary to accept and activate the
ActiveX control prior to converting the file to another file type that
supports ActiveX linking and activation. If the ActiveX control is not
activated, the link reference is dropped from the file and will not appear in
the converted file."
This bit is the most interesting "Office applications provide, by default,
the ability to block ActiveX controls from using persisted data. However, if
you have specifically changed the default setting for ActiveX initialization
during the installation process, or by using a policy, the system will
perform the initialization of the ActiveX control based on your custom
settings."
So how do I can the default settings for how office handles activeX?
