| Q. What are Word macro viruses?
A. Macro viruses are computer viruses that use an application's
own macro programming language to distribute themselves. These
macros have the potential to inflict damage to the document or
to other computer software. These macro viruses can infect Word
files, as well as any other application that uses a programming
language.
Unlike previous viruses, macro viruses do not infect programs;
they infect documents and templates. Opening a document or
template that contains a macro virus will infect your system and
the virus will spread to other documents and templates you may
have on your system. Some macro viruses are not harmful, but
they can be annoying. However, there are some macro viruses that
can be very destructive. Also, Word macro viruses can be spread
across platforms; for example, the macro virus can infect files
on the Windows platform, as well as files on the Macintosh
platform.
Q. How can I determine whether I have a Word macro virus?
A. 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 look through the various macros for ones that
you do not recognize. It is possible that one, or more, of them
are part of a macro virus that has infected your system. Some
examples of these type of macro names are: AAAZAO, AAAZFS,
AutoOpen, FileSaveAs, and PayLoad. |