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Windows Script Host

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 221.128.147.177 (talk) at 17:23, 17 November 2007 (+ Script debugger). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Microsoft Windows Script Host (originally called Windows Scripting Host, but renamed for the second release) is distributed and installed by default on Windows 98 and later versions of Microsoft Windows. It is also installed if Internet Explorer 5 (or a later version) is installed. It provides scripting capabilities comparable to batch files, but with a greater range of supported features. Beginning with Windows 2000, the Windows Script Host became available for use with user login scripts.

It is language-independent in the sense that it can make use of different Active Scripting language engines. By default it interprets and runs plain-text JScript (.JS and .JSE files) and VBScript (.VBS and .VBE files). Users can install different scripting engines to enable them to script in other languages, for instance Perl. The language independent filename extension WSF can also be used. The advantage of the Windows Script File (.WSF) is that it allows the user to use a combination of scripting languages within a single file.

Security concerns

Some applications and processes running under Windows can be automated using a script in Windows Script Host. Some viruses and malware may attempt to use it as an exploit. Consequently, some recommend disabling it (or using an antivirus program that blocks scripts) for security reasons.

One way to address security concerns about Windows Script Host is to change the default handler for the .vbs, .vbe, .js, .jse, .wsf, .wsh file types to edit rather than run.[1]

Version history

Windows 98 and Windows 2000 shipped with WSH version 5.1. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 shipped with WSH version 5.6. Windows Vista was distributed with version 5.7. Downloads are available to install WSH on Windows 95 and Windows NT. Windows 2000, XP and 2003 can be upgraded to use the latest version (5.7) for free by downloading the appropriate files from Microsoft (see the external links section below).

See also

References

  1. ^ In-depth discussion regarding securing WSH
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