This page answers frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding viruses, especially in Microsoft Word files.
Q. What are "macro viruses" and what do they have to do with Microsoft Word?
A. Microsoft Word documents (.DOC files) can contain viruses. These are known as "macro viruses" because they are written in Word's macro programming language. There are legitimate needs for macros in Word, such as for adding keyboard shortcuts, but most people never use that feature. Therefore, most Word documents containing macros are really infected with a virus (over 90% of known viruses are MS-Word macro viruses as opposed to kinds that infect EXE files).
Q. How do I protect myself from viruses in Microsoft Word documents?
A. Protecting yourself is relatively easy. If you have any version of Microsoft
Word sold in the last five years, such as Word 97 or later, there is a macro-virus
protection option built into MS-Word. (For earlier versions of MS-Word, there
are other solutions available, although they are more "manual" and
a little trickier to install.)
In Word 97, you can turn on macro virus protection using these steps (I assume
that later versions of Word have similar options):
Thereafter, if you ever open a Word file with a macro in it, which potentially could be a virus, MS-Word will warn you. If you see such a warning, simply hit "Cancel" to prevent Word from opening the document, or choose the "Disable" option which opens the document without enabling the potential macro virus.
Q. How do I avoid transmitting viruese to other people if I want to send them Microsoft Word documents?
A. If you are sending MS-Word documents, you can save them in RTF ("rich
text") format instead of .DOC format. Because RTF files don't allow macros,
they can't be used to transmit viruses. The RTF option is available under the
File->Save As command. MS-Word can also save files in HTML format, which
is generally less prone to viruses, but not completely immune. [Bruce: I'm not
sure about this actually.]
However, unless you really need Word's formatting features, you can avoid the
entire issue by simply copying the text from the Word document and pasting the
text into the body of an email.
Note that you should generally not send attachments of any kind to a mailing
list. Click here for details.
Q. Will turning on Microsoft Word macro virus protection proect my system from all viruses?
A. No, it will only protect you from viruses transmitted via MS-Word .DOC files!
The MS-Word macro virus protection option does not protect you against other types of viruses (such as those transmitted in EXE files). For full protection, you should install full-fledged virus protection software, like that available from Symantec's Norton AntiVirus. Such software usually comes with a year of free updates to make sure you are protected against the latest viruses. I just renewed mine for another year and it was only $10.
If you are having trouble with your anti-virus software or think your machine
has been infected, contact your company's computer specialists (the IT or MIS
dept) and ask them to make sure your machine is adequately protected.
Q. Should I warn other people about viruses?
That depends. If you think you've inadvertently transmitted a virus to someone, sending them another email might simply transmit the virus again. It is best to make sure your system is disinfected before emailing anyone. Once your system is disinfected, it is common courtesy to notify people who you probably infected that your system might have transmitted a virus. However, competent users will already have their own anti-virus software installed. So chances are you'll find out about the infection from someone writing to you saying, "You sent me a virus, you better disinfect your system."
Under NO circumstances should you forward so-called "virus warnings" to people. Such chain letters typically say "There is a terrible virus. Tell all your friends". Most "virus warnings" are really hoaxes.By forwarding the letter, you are simply compounding the problem and marking yourself as gullible. If there is a real new virus threat, it will be discussed on the evening news, or reputable sites such as Yahoo! and Symantec.
Q. But don't people need to know about viruses? Isn't it better that I warn them?
People do need to know about computer viruses, which is why I wrote this FAQ.
But clogging people's in-boxes with hoaxes, however well-meaning, isn't helpful.
There is no excuse for any computer user to run a computer without installing
anti-virus software. If they are properly protected, there is no need to warn
them. If they are not properly protected, your warning isn't going to help them.
The only thing you should ever say to anyone about viruses is to remind them
to install and update their virus protection software. Discussion of individual
viruses is largely futile (and usually a hoax). The real threat is the viruses
they don't know about and that you don't know about either.