WD97: Template Security Patch Installation Considerations and Issues

ID: Q215462

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

This article contains important information about the Word Template Security Patch. The following topics are covered in this article:

  • Security Issue


  • Installation Considerations


  • How to Determine Whether Word SR-1 or SR-2 Is Installed on Your System


  • How the Security Patch Can Be Applied to an Administrative Network Installation


  • How to Determine Whether Word SR-1 or SR-2 Was Patched


  • How to "Silently" Install the Patch (Without User Prompts)


  • Troubleshooting Patch Errors



The Word Template Security Patch is available from the following Microsoft Web site:
http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloaddetails/wd97sp.htm
NOTE: The Template Security Patch utility can be applied to Microsoft Word 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1) and Microsoft Word 97 Service Release 2 (SR-2) in the following languages:
Brazil
Chinese, simplified
Chinese, traditional
Czech Intl.
Danish
Dutch
English US
English, Swedish
English, UK
Finnish
French, Canadian
French, Norway
German
Greek
Hungarian
Iberian Spanish
Italian
Japan 97
Japan 98
Korean
Polish
Russian
Slovenia
Turkish


MORE INFORMATION

The Security Issue

A document file can potentially be attached to a nontrusted template that contains macros. Microsoft Word considers documents and templates that are stored in either the user templates folder or the workgroup templates folder as trusted, or free of unwanted macro viruses. To determine where Word is storing your trusted user and workgroup templates, click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the File Locations tab.

Microsoft provides a Word Template Security Patch to protect your documents from macro viruses that could potentially be spread from a nontrusted template.

With the Template Security Patch applied, Word warns you with the following warning when the document that you are opening is attached to a nontrusted template that contains macros:

   The document you are opening contains macros or customizations. Some
   macros may contain viruses that could harm your computer.

   If you are sure this document is from a trusted source, click Enable
   Macros. If you are not sure and want to prevent any macros from running,
   click Disable Macros.

Installation Considerations

You can only apply the Word Template Security Patch utility to Microsoft Word 97 (SR-1) and (SR-2). You must first patch original, or base, Microsoft Office or Word 97 installations with SR-1 before you can apply the Template Security Patch.

NOTE: This patch modifies the Microsoft Word executable file. Reinstalling Microsoft Office 97 or updating SR-1 to SR-2 requires that the Template Security Patch be applied to your system again.

How to Determine Whether Word SR-1 or SR-2 Is Installed on Your System

You can check your version of Word in the About dialog box. To check Microsoft Word, follow these steps:
  1. Open Microsoft Word 97.


  2. On the Help menu, click About Microsoft Word.


  3. Determine whether the dialog box contains the following text:


    4. Microsoft Word 97 SR-1
    -or-
    Microsoft Word 97 SR-2

How the Security Patch Can Be Applied to an Administrative Network Installation

The Word Template Security Patch can be applied to an administrative "run from network server" installation of Word, provided that you have the permissions to write to the network folder where the Word executable resides. To patch a "run from network server" installation, follow these steps:
  1. Log on as an administrator (or as any user with Write access to the installation folder) on a workstation that runs Word from the server.


  2. Close any open sessions to the Microsoft Word executable.


  3. Run the Template Security Patch.


After the patch is complete, users at other workstations are protected from macro viruses that can be spread from a nontrusted template the next time that they start Word.

How to Determine Whether Word SR-1 or SR-2 Was Patched

You can verify that your Word executable has been successfully patched by running the Wd97SP.exe program. The utility can determine whether your Word program was previously patched and notifies you with the following message:

	Microsoft Word has already been patched.

How to "Silently" Install the Patch (Without User Prompts)

You can apply the Security Patch silently to Word 97 installations by running it with command-line switches.

To extract the patch executable, type the following command:
wd97sp.exe /q /c:"Wdpatch.exe -s"
Winword.exe is then patched in silent mode, with no user prompts.

Troubleshooting Patch Errors

When you run the Template Security Patch, it checks the Windows Registry for the location of the Word executable file and then performs a test to make sure that you actually have Microsoft Word 97 SR-1 or SR-2 installed on your computer.

Specifically, the patch is not successful if the following key in the Microsoft Windows registry refers to an incorrect location for Microsoft Word 97:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{000209FF-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\LocalServer32

Run Setup with the /y Switch to Correct the Registry

Try to run Setup with the /y switch for Word or Office to repair registry corruption. To run Setup with the /y switch, follow these steps:
  1. Insert the Word or Office CD into the CD-ROM drive. If you installed Word or Office from floppy disks, insert the Setup Disk 1 in the floppy disk drive.


  2. Click Start, and then click Run.


  3. In the Open box, type the following:
    <drive>:\setup /Y
    where <drive> is the letter of the drive that contains the CD or Setup Disk 1.


  4. Click OK.


  5. Click Reinstall.


This reregisters Word and all Office programs when you run Office Setup.

Turn Off Virus Protection Before Running the Patch

Some virus protection programs can interfere with the Template Security Patch. If you use a virus protection program on your computer, turn it off before you run the patch. (You can turn the virus protection program on again after the patch is complete.)

Patch Not Designed for Word 2000

If you run Word 97 and Word 2000 on the same computer, the path for Word 2000 will be in the registry key if you last ran Word 2000. The patch will fail because it is not designed to patch Word 2000.

The following error message will appear:
Cannot open word executable. It may be read-only or on a drive to which you do not have write access. Patch has failed
To correct this problem, run Word 97 before you run the security patch, or manually change the following key to the correct path:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{000209FF-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\LocalServer32

Microsoft Support Options

If you cannot resolve this issue, several support options are available to assist you.

Quickly Find Answers Yourself Online

Use Microsoft Personal Online Support to search the Microsoft Knowledge Base and other technical resources for fast, accurate answers. You can also customize the site to control your search.

To begin your search, go to the following Web address:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/

Microsoft Product Support

Contact a Microsoft Product Support professional to assist you with troubleshooting problems.

For more information about obtaining help with troubleshooting Microsoft Windows, click Help Topics on the Help menu in Windows Explorer. On the Contents tab, double-click to open the Troubleshooting book. Then double-click to open the Contact Microsoft Technical Support book to view your support options.

For more information about obtaining help with troubleshooting Microsoft Word, click About Microsoft Word on the Help menu, and then click Tech Support.

For additional information about Microsoft support services, please click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q102344 Microsoft Product Support Options Q&A

Microsoft Solution Providers

Microsoft Solution Providers are independent organizations that have teamed with Microsoft to use technology to solve business problems for companies of all sizes and industries.

To locate a Microsoft Solution Provider in your area in the U.S. and Canada, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. If you are outside the United States, contact your local subsidiary. To locate your subsidiary, see the Microsoft World Wide Offices Web site at:
http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/default.htm

Additional query words: security html email

Keywords : kbdta kbtemplate word8 word97
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto


Last Reviewed: January 31, 2000
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