Clicking yes triggers the macro, and the fun begins… So now, if a user happens to open an infected file, they will see a prompt asking them if they want to enable macros. Microsoft chose to disable macros by default in reaction to the proliferation of macro viruses. I say “dangerously close” because now, Microsoft Word and Excel have macros disabled by default. If the user opens the file, they’re dangerously close to a macro virus infection. Malicious actors send emails or text messages to prospective victims, including the infected document or spreadsheet as attachments or a URL linking to the infected file. A malicious macro could even contact a remote server and trigger the download and installation of malware.īecause macro viruses are embedded within documents and spreadsheets, their attacks typically depend on social engineering. That means things like creating new files, moving text, sending files, inserting pictures or videos, or more destructive things like formatting the hard drive or corrupting your data. A malicious macro could perform any action that’s supported by the macro language in which it was written. But a malicious macro won’t make your life easier – quite the opposite. And it just takes a few key presses to trigger the macro. Usually, a macro is written to make the user’s life easier by executing (usually) redundant tasks quickly, such as inserting a particular table into all the documents created from a specific template and connecting to a database to validate the table’s values. A macro language is a simple programming language that enables a user to write and execute automated tasks in sequence. Macro viruses are written in a macro language, which is supported by the applications they infect. Macro viruses typically spread by being embedded in documents and spreadsheets (typically Excel spreadsheets and Word documents). We’ll then go over what you can do to avoid macro viruses and how to remove them.
This post looks at how macro viruses work and provides real-world examples. And because macro viruses target applications rather than the device the apps are running on, they can infect any operating system, not just Windows. And as you might’ve guessed, the applications most commonly vulnerable to macro viruses are Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. A macro virus bears that name because it is written in the same macro language as the application it infects. You know about computer viruses, but what about macro viruses? No, macro viruses aren’t bigger viruses.
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