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. Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... Windows 98 (codenamed Memphis) is a graphical operating system released on June 25, 1998 by Microsoft and the successor to Windows 95. ... Windows redirects here. ... Windows Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer abbreviated MSIE), commonly abbreviated to IE, is a series of proprietary graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems starting in 1995. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Guide to Windows commands In MS-DOS, OS/2 and Windows, a batch file is a text file containing a series of commands intended to be executed by the command interpreter. ... Windows 2000 (also referred to as Win2K) is a preemptive, interruptible, graphical and business-oriented operating system that was designed to work with either uniprocessor or symmetric multi-processor 32-bit Intel x86 computers. ...

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. Active Scripting (formerly known as ActiveX Scripting) is the technology used in Windows to implement component-based scripting support. ... JScript is the Microsoft implementation of the ECMAScript scripting programming language specification. ... VBScript (short for Visual Basic Scripting Edition) is an Active Scripting language developed by Microsoft. ... Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Perl Programming Perl is a dynamic programming language created by Larry Wall and first released in 1987. ... A filename extension is a suffix to the name of a computer file applied to show its format. ... A Windows Script File (WSF) is a file type used by the Microsoft Windows Script Host. ...

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]

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). Windows XP is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on general-purpose computer systems, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. ... Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft. ... Windows Vista is a line of graphical operating systems used on personal computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, Tablet PCs, and media centers. ...

See also

• Shell script
• Windows PowerShell
• Active Scripting
• JScript
• VBScript
• Windows Script File

A shell script is a script written for the shell, or command line interpreter, of an operating system. ... Windows PowerShell, previously Microsoft Shell or MSH (codenamed Monad) is an extensible command line interface (CLI) shell and scripting language product developed by Microsoft. ... Active Scripting (formerly known as ActiveX Scripting) is the technology used in Windows to implement component-based scripting support. ... JScript is the Microsoft implementation of the ECMAScript scripting programming language specification. ... VBScript (short for Visual Basic Scripting Edition) is an Active Scripting language developed by Microsoft. ... A Windows Script File (WSF) is a file type used by the Microsoft Windows Script Host. ...

References

External links

• WSH Primer on Microsoft TechNet - Get started with WSH
• WSH home at MSDN
• WSH Reference
• Microsoft Windows Script Downloads
• Release notes for Windows Script 5.7