Is Java better than ActiveX?

Microsoft's idea of embedding active content on web pages as COM/ActiveX components (rather than e.g. Java applets) created a combination of problems in the Internet Explorer web browser that has led to an explosion of computer virus, trojan and spyware infections. These malware attacks mostly depend on ActiveX for their activation and propagation to other computers. Microsoft recognized the problem with ActiveX as far back as 1996 when Charles Fitzgerald, program manager of Microsoft's Java team said "If you want security on the 'Net', unplug your computer. ... We never made the claim up front that ActiveX is intrinsically secure."