[X4U] Consumer Reports

[Randy B.Singer]

keith_w said:

>> There are Microsoft macro viruses out there. Both for Word and Excel. 
>> Some of these are very malicious.
>
>In light of which, I have a question.
>I run Mac OS 10.3.9, and will be installing a brand new copy of MS 
>Office 2004 in about a week.
>Valid reason? My wife uses PC programs at work, and has decided she 
>wants the ability to do some work-work on the home Mac.
>So, back to having MS products on my Mac!  Sighhhh.

There is no reason to have to justify the use of Microsoft Office.  
Microsoft office products are the de facto standard among businesses.  
They are also, IMHO, excellent products, no matter what you think of 
Microsoft.  And the Mac versions are true Macintosh products, in some 
ways better than the Windows versions.

>Anyhow, first question is, must you be actually using a Word or Excel 
>macro in order for the "macro virus/worm" to activate?

Yes.  Unless you open an infected file in a Microsoft application, the 
macro won't run.

>If I use the various parts of MS Office bareback, no macros, etc., do I 
>have to concern myself about viruses or worms?

No, you don't.  All of the Word and Excel macro viruses that you might 
encounter arrive in files that others send you, and they can't hurt you 
if you don't let the embedded macros run.

>If so, what's the least obtrusive solution that still works?
>In your most humble opinion, of course!  <wink>

In both Word and Excel, under Preferences, there is an option called 
"Macro Virus Protection."  Enable that and when the program encounters a 
macro it will block it and ask if you are sure if you want to run it.  If 
you never allow a macro to run, you are 100% protected.

The problem comes about if you receive a Word or Excel file from a 
business associate, and it has an embedded macro that you didn't expect.  
Without querying the associate,  you don't know if the macro is a macro 
virus, or if it is important.  That's where having a good anti-viral 
program can come in handy.  It can scan the file and tell you if the 
macro is a macro virus, or if it is benign.  

So, it all depends if you will be exchanging Microsoft files with macros 
in them in the course of your business.  If you never expect to see files 
with macros in them, then just using the built-in macro virus protection 
in the Word applications will completely protect you.  Otherwise, you may 
want to have anti-virus software.

http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;187243

http://www.bu.edu/computing/virus/macro-protection.html




Randy B. Singer
Co-Author of: The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th and 6th editions)

Routine OS X Maintenance and Generic Troubleshooting
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html