Security Update: IE Changes Due: What You Can Expect

Microsoft Corp. will release Tuesday a security update for Internet Explorer that will also change how users interact with Web sites.

Some sites that rely on popular ActiveX controls, such as Apple's QuickTime, RealNetworks' RealPlayer, and Adobe's Flash and Acrobat, are likely to give users fits.

The change, which Microsoft has been warning Web site developers about since December 2005, was made to abide by a ruling in a patent infringement lawsuit Microsoft lost in 2003 to the University of California and its startup, Eolas Technologies Inc.

With the changes rolled out in a mandatory security fix, any IE user who downloads and installs Tuesday's security patches -- either manually or via an automated system such as Microsoft Update -- will likely need to modify how they use those sites which haven't been rewritten.

What should users expect?