Web Link App Control

Ok i have searched for how to do this and can't figure a way.
Here is what i need to do:

My webpage has links on it and when you click one a program running on the clients computer respondes.

How do you do this? or can you point me in the right direction.

First of all, programs running on the client's computer obviously are running outside the browser container object, SO...

Use an ActiveX control, with a security pop up informing them of the installation and it's use. They may have to change their security settings.

OR... here's a better one...

Your web click sends the ip address of the client to a web page (ASP or something,) that processes their request and sends a message from the server (through a cheap-o message system) to any clients connected to it matching the ip address or group or whatever.

In short, don't try to get the browser to interact directly with the client, have the client's browser send a message for the server or some other machine to send a message for the client to do some work. It sounds roundabout, but it is actually less of a workaround and more in line with application design thus affording you some abstraction IF you can do it. If you can't program the server directly, just have the web server post a message via GET or POST to a Java servlet or vb web class running somewhere else.