Simple Solution: IE8 Information Bar Not Working

I recently logged on to the Windows Update site, only to receive the message,

Install the ActiveX control required to view the website
The website will not display correctly on your computer without this control. To install it:

1. Right-click the Internet Explorer Information Bar. It's located just below the address bar.
2. In the right-click menu, click Install ActiveX Control.
3. In the Security Warning dialog box, click Install.

Unfortunately, there was no 'Internet Explorer Information Bar' showing below my address bar in IE8.

However, there was no information bar just beneath the navigation bar on my IE8!

This was strange, as I had only visited the site a couple of days previously and everything worked fine. I use Windows XP Pro as my operating system and I run ZoneAlarm Pro firewall and BitDefender 2008 antivirus software.

I searched Google for answers and as usual there were lots of in depth analyses and a load more questions back ... but no answers.

So, I put together a few bits I'd gleaned from the dicussions (I am not a computer expert; quite the opposite), did a bit of digging and came up with a solution that worked for me.

So here it is:

I remembered that I had been frustrated by how slow IE8 was running so I had been into the Tools > Manage Add-Ons menu and switched off accelearators etc. However, one Add-On I'd also switched off (disabled) which was the cause of my problems was the MUWebControl Class. So I switched it back on again (enabled it) by right clicking on the word 'Disabled' and then choosing 'Enable' from the dropdown box ... and voilá, everything worked fine.

I understand that this may not work for you but if it does, you will be saved a lot of time and friustration.

Trust me; I've been there!

Hope this helps!