Another patch, KB 2553154, is killing some Excel 2010 and 2013 macros, saying the ActiveX control “has stopped working in Excel.” ...

A check box in Excel can use either Excel's form controls or ActiveX controls for formatting. Form controls offer simple formatting, as well as the ability to add a check box to a chart sheet or ...

Form Control objects are self-contained within Excel, while ActiveX Control objects use Visual Basic for Applications for formatting and scripting.

In Office 2007 and 2010 you can turn off all ActiveX controls. Things are a little trickier in Office 2003.

It's been quiet for a while, but ActiveX is still around. Upcoming Microsoft Office versions will finally switch off support. At least almost.

The bug is in the ActiveX control that displays Excel spreadsheets within IE, Microsoft said. The timing of the disclosure was particularly awkward for Microsoft.