Protect your documents against Word macro viruses

[Ivy00]

Macro virus

A macro is a macro, ie a script embedded in a document to automate certain tasks. Scripts are usually developed in VBA. Macros are designed to record a sequence of actions always performed in the same order, repeatedly. By using macros, it is possible to register a list of successive so you can run at once. This way you can save time.

The use of macro programming language (such as VBA: "Visual Basic for Applications) to change the functioning of a program.

It is certainly already arrived to hear that simple documents (such as Excel, Word or other) could not be infected. Wrong! Today there are viruses that are called macro viruses which are capable of infecting a simple text document and banal (like Excel, Word, Word Pad).

The big target of macro viruses are Microsoft products like Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and Outlook.

symptoms of infection by a macro virus

One of the symptoms of macro virus infection is the emergence of unknown or macros that are not permitted as AAAZFS the Normal.dot file in Word.

What are the consequences ?

Macro viruses cling to all documents saved and passed from one user to another via e-mail or the good old way: through floppy!
The office software include macro commands aimed at simplifying the task of users. Macro viruses are able to interrupt the action recording files, control the storage of data, manipulate information, destroy data and even make disc formats!
Imagine the consequences this may have when these types of infected material circulating in a large company!

At the opening of a document containing a macro infected, the virus hides in the default document and all documents created or opened with this program will be infected!
Another macro viruses, Payload, tries to delete the system files as io.sys, COMMAND.COM, MSDOS.SYS.

Some macro viruses take control messaging software or e-mail, hacking into your address book and they send all your contacts a document drawn at random on your hard disk.

How to protect ?

That is the big question! Remember that it is very easy to protect against Word macro viruses known.

[Ivy00]

First Solution

/ \ Attention / \:
This method may not be valid versions of Word today. But it can be used in Word 1997.
Select "Macro" menu "Tools> Create a new macro> Called: AutoExec in which you type:

  Sub Main  
      DisableAutoMacros  
      MsgBox "automacros are now turned off.", "Virus Protection", 64  
  End Sub

Second solution

Word also offers security levels to reduce infection of your documents by macro viruses. To increase or decrease the level of security, do the following:
1: Menu "Tools"> "Macro"> "Security ..."
2: Under the "Security Level"> Select the desired security level> Click OK.

You can choose between four levels:

• Weak
• Average
• High
• Very high

Third solution
The third method is to lock your global template (Normal.dot) with a password. This reduces the risk of macro access to your documents.

1. Menu "Tools"> "Macro"> "Visual Basic Editor.
2. In Visual Basic Editor, choose: ThisDocument "in the project window.
3. Menu "Tools"> Click "Properties project".
4. Under the "Protection", check the box next to "Lock project for viewing"> Type a password (I recommend using a combination of letters Figures + + + Special Uppercase characters). Example of a secure password: UnM4t% ^ ^ p2tL123!.
5. Type the same password in the "Confirm password"> Click OK.
6. Menu "File"> Click "Close and Return to Microsoft Word."
7. Press the Shift key, let down> "File"> "Save All".
8. Click "Yes" if the following message appears:

"Changes have been made to the global template. Save these changes ?"

Fourth solution

Use a good antivirus regularly updated to remove this kind of virus. Conduct a complete system scan with your antivirus software to detect any infected Macros.