WD6X: Macro Virus Protection Tool for the Macintosh (MW1222)

• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1

SUMMARY

Microsoft offers an Application Note for Word for the Macintosh titled "MW1222: Macro Virus Protection Tool." This Application Note will help you detect and disarm suspicious macros in Word.

Please note that the Macro Virus Protection Tool is intended as an interim tool only. For a permanent solution to macro virus problems, install anti- virus software that is specifically designed to detect Word macro viruses. Such software is available from several third-party companies. For information on anti-virus software vendors, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q49500
   TITLE     : Anti-Virus Software Vendors

• Microsoft's World Wide Web Site on the Internet
• The Internet (Microsoft anonymous ftp server)
• Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)
• Microsoft Product Support Services

MORE INFORMATION

THE TEXT OF MD1222

  Microsoft(R) Product Support Services Application Note (Text File)
                  MW1222: MACRO VIRUS PROTECTION TOOL

                                                  Revision Date: 11/95
                                                       1 Disk Included

 INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT AND ANY SOFTWARE THAT MAY
 ACCOMPANY THIS DOCUMENT (collectively referred to as an Application
 Note) IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER
 EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED
 WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
 PURPOSE. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and
 the use of this Application Note. This Application Note may be
 copied and distributed subject to the following conditions:  1) All
 text must be copied without modification and all pages must be
 included;  2) If software is included, all files on the disk(s)
 must be copied without modification (the MS-DOS(R)  utility
 diskcopy is appropriate for this purpose);  3) All components of
 this Application Note must be distributed together;  and  4) This
 Application Note may not be distributed for profit.

 Copyright (C) 1995 Microsoft Corporation.  All Rights Reserved.
 Microsoft, MS-DOS, and Windows are registered trademarks of
 Microsoft Corporation.
 Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.

Introduction

The Macro Virus Protection tool is a free tool that installs a set of protective macros in Word. These macros detect suspicious Word documents and alert you if they find a Word virus. You are then given the choice of opening the file without its macros, ensuring that no viruses are transmitted.

In addition, the tool also contains an updated version of the scanning code for the Concept Virus and can be used to scan your hard disk for Word files that contain the Concept Virus.

This Application Note includes two files: Readme.doc and Scanprot.dot. Readme.doc contains complete information on how to install the Macro Virus Protection tool. It also answers common questions about the tool and about macro viruses. Scanprot.dot contains the Macro Virus Protection tool. Look at Readme.doc for instructions on how to use the Scanprot.dot file.

Special Notes

While running the Macro Virus Protection tool, you may experience the following problems:

• The scan may be time consuming.

  The scanning portion of the Protection tool may take a long time to run, depending on the size of the hard disk, the computer configuration, and the number of documents being scanned. You can minimize the time it takes to scan your documents by instructing the tool to scan only folders where you know Word documents to be present, rather than scanning an entire hard disk.

• There is no indication that you have to wait.

  While the scanning tool is working, the mouse pointer may not change to a watch, but instead appears as an arrow, italic I-beam, or another unexpected shape. This is a display problem only and does not affect the performance of the Protection tool.

• The tool mistakes a File Series document for subdocuments.

  If the scanning tool finds a File Series document (created in Word 4.0 or 5.0), it will pause and ask if you want to convert the file into a Master Document. You should answer No. If you answer Yes, the scanning tool will create a master document and will create a Word 6.0 document for each document in the file series.

• You receive an Error 1078 message.

  If you don't have a Normal template, or if the User Templates setting is missing, you will receive the error message "Error 1078 -This file cannot be opened (Global)." This error message occurs because the scanning tool needs to install itself in the Normal template and it can't find the template. Should you get this message, click OK, close Scanprot.dot, quit Word (this creates a Normal template if one did not already exist), and restart Word. Look in the File Locations setting to make sure a path is specified for User Templates. (To locate the File Locations settings, click Options on the Tools menu, and click the File Locations tab.) Then, reopen Scanprot.dot.

• The tool does not check documents that were created in Word for Windows(R).

  The scanning tool will not examine files that were created in Word for Windows if they have not yet been opened and saved in Word for the Macintosh. This is because when the files are first copied from an MS-DOS(R)-formatted disk, they do not have the correct file type identifier, which they receive after being opened in Word for the Macintosh. For the scanning tool to check these files for the presence of viruses, you must first open each file in Word for the Macintosh and save it. You then run the scanning tool and specify the folder where the files are located.

• You receive an Error 1025 message when the tool checks a mail merge document.

  Mail merge documents with missing data documents will cause the scanning tool to pause. When the scanning tool opens a mail merge document, it tries to find the attached data document so that it can check the data document for viruses. If it can't find the data document, it asks if you want to locate the document. If you choose not to locate the file, "Error 1025 - Word could not open the document <document name>" appears. To avoid this error message, locate the data document when the scanning tool asks, or move the mail merge document from the folder that you want to scan.

TO OBTAIN THIS APPLICATION NOTE

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Software Library:

 ~ Mw1222.HQX (size: 83729 bytes) 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q119591
   TITLE     : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services