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Excel VB macro safety?
- Thread starter LonnieP
- Start date
Pretty much any antivirus program does that. However, it can't know what it doesn't know; so if you are truly trolling in the "wild," you could certainly come across macros that haven't yet been detected or reported.
TTFN
faq731-376
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TTFN
faq731-376
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chemebabak
Chemical
Here is a good tip: Set your Macro Security settings to "Disable all macros with notification". For unknown files, open the VB editor and review all the code. If there is something you do not understand or looks malicious then simply close the file. If it looks fine then accept the security prompt to enable macros...
- Thread starter
- #4
Yep, got 'Notification' turned on. Just not sure what a malicious macro can be made to do, and maybe I'm running a little scared. Hate to allow macros and have an autorun macro erase the hard drive. I'm so new to VB I wouldn't even know what to look for.
LonnieP
LonnieP
a malicious macro can theoretically do anything that VBA is capable of doing, up to, and including, writing/deleting files, propagating itself into other files on your drives, possibly messing with the operating system, flooding your, or someone else's, email server, etc. Wikipedia Macro Virus entry But, again, the key is to have an up-to-date AV program that will at least scan for the more prevalent, and known, macro viruses.
A venerable (??) virus is Melissa:
However, as shown here, Melissa, and many of its ilk are known to the major AV programs:
So, good security is not dependent on any SINGLE thing
> Level of trust associated with sender of file
> Is the macro supposedly open source code, or a compiled module
> UP TO DATE AV program
> Manually force AV program to scan the file, in case something else has turned off your AV
> Open the file with macro security on HIGH
> etc.
TTFN
faq731-376
Need help writing a question or understanding a reply? forum1529
A venerable (??) virus is Melissa:
However, as shown here, Melissa, and many of its ilk are known to the major AV programs:
So, good security is not dependent on any SINGLE thing
> Level of trust associated with sender of file
> Is the macro supposedly open source code, or a compiled module
> UP TO DATE AV program
> Manually force AV program to scan the file, in case something else has turned off your AV
> Open the file with macro security on HIGH
> etc.
TTFN
faq731-376
Need help writing a question or understanding a reply? forum1529
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