Accessing Client Machine Information
Written by Eric Smith, Northstar Computer Systems LLC
This question was raised by several readers: how can I get information about a user's login ID or machine name? The answer is that ASP, by itself, can't get it. Unless the data is passed through the ServerVariables collection, such as the IP address, you can't get it. You can get it, however, if you add an ActiveX control to your page. The ActiveX control, since it has to be installed on the user's machine (manually or automatically), has access to the whole machine and can retrieve information normally accessible through the Windows API. Obviously, if your users were not aware you were retrieving information from their machines like this, they might be a bit upset. Be very careful how you use this capability or users will simply stop downloading your applets or stop visiting your site entirely.
Keywords: [
COM, DCOM, COM+
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VB API Programming
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Publication Date: 11/1/1999, Last Update: 2/12/2010
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