What is a Macro Virus?
– A macro virus is a computer virus that “infects” a Microsoft Word or similar application and causes a sequence of actions to be performed automatically when the application is started or something else triggers it. Macro viruses tend to be surprising but relatively harmless. A typical effect is the undesired insertion of some comic text at certain points when writing a line. A macro virus is often spread as an e-mail virus.
< Previous | Next > Macro viruses are computer viruses that use an application’s own built-in macro programming language to distribute themselves and corrupt documents and possibly other files. Both Macintosh and Windows computers are susceptible to Microsoft Office macro viruses. In general, macro viruses propagate themselves by modifying the Normal template file in Microsoft Office documents. The following recommendations can be applied to all Office macro viruses. If you use macros or receive documents that contain macros, the best defense against macro viruses is to use a commercial antivirus program such as Symantec AntiVirus (SAV). SAV will detect and eradicate most macro viruses, and is the antivirus program that Peter Kiewit Computing Services supports. You can download SAV from the Software Downloads Web page or purchase a copy from Computer Sales and Service.
A macro virus is a computer virus that is written in the macro language of a program such as Word or Excel or Access. It is attached to a document or template file and spreads when that file is opened Macro viruses do not travel freely over the Internet or any other media; they only spread when you open an infected document or template. For example, if you open a Word document or template that has a macro virus, then any other Word document that you open on your computer can also get “infected” by the macro virus. Some macro viruses are just annoying, but others are very destructive. These viruses can spread very rapidly. Fortunately, once you know about macro viruses, it is easy to protect yourself against them read on for details. How can I tell if I have a computer virus? (Information in this section is from the Microsoft Web site) It is not always easy to determine whether you have a macro virus. If you are familiar with the Word macros you have on your system, you can go to Tools®
With the popularity and everyday use of the Internet increasing, and the threat of viruses growing everyday, many Internet users have implemented Anti-Virus applications to help them remain safe from virus attacks while they are on the Internet. Macro viruses require user action to execute once they have been downloaded or make their way onto a computer system. The viruses are typically written in a scripting language that is commonly used to create macros for use within applications. Some of these macro viruses are more an annoyance than a threat to the security of a computer system. An example would be a macro virus that produces undesired text within Microsoft Word® when a certain combination of keys are pressed. Many applications, including Microsoft Word® and Excel®, disable the execution of macros by default. This helps protect the unsuspecting user from accidentally executing a macro virus. These applications remain macro aware and with a few changes to the security settings, tr
A macro virus is a small macro (usually MS Word or Excel) written to annoy you and possibly damage your papers and hard disk data. These viruses are truly cross platform (the same macro can run on Mac or PC) and are most easily passed via an infected paper or document attached to an email. In an academic setting such as this, these pesky viruses are a nightmare. Some of the newer macro viruses can take control of an email application such as Outlook Express and email itself to your friends. To avoid getting macro viruses, use a virus scanner and do not enable macros unless you are certain that the document you’re opening is supposed to contain a macro.
