Before starting it is necessary
to remember that macros are small programs that include
instructions and commands that are used to infect popular apps, such as office
suites such as Microsoft Office, most commonly in Word or Excel, to
automate or make easier a tasks that would otherwise be much more complex to
perform. nanobiztech
These macros are used by virus
developers to include code that, when executed, opens
a door to the attacker that is used to steal information or infect through
expansion to other files on the system for various
purposes, always illegal, such as It could not be otherwise.
One of the simplest
ways to get infected with a virus through a macro is
to receive a document, which can be an Excel or Word or any other that uses
macros as part of its work, that contains an infected macro, a
very common situation today in day. By opening it and executing the macro,
which can be disguised as anything else, apparently harmless, we
are unleashing a series of events that can even end in the hijacking of our
computer. globalmarketingbusiness
This is because hidden among the
harmless instructions that the macro contains, there
is also code that will allow the cybercriminal to download malware or viruses
to our PC , and already in this instance, attack us or
attack our contact list, for example. allinonetechs
How to beware of macro viruses
At
this point, and to provide us with the most robust security framework possible,
the first thing we have to remember is everything we have learned about viruses
and how they attack us. In the fight against viruses, our intelligence
and common sense are 100% important.
This means that we are the first
line of defense, or last, depending on how it is understood, and we should not
fully trust the characteristics of any antivirus software, since they
can be wrong. leadmarketingbusiness
For example, in the case of
receiving an attached file from someone we do not know, the
best we can do is open it in "Read Only" mode ,
since this mode will not allow the execution of macros or any other. item
attached to the document. technologycompanians
If the document is accompanied by
a message that asks us to enable macros, the first thing we have to do is check
that this request is well founded. If the document in question is only
text, or numbers in Excel columns, it is most likely that we
are being tricked into enabling macros and through them making us fall into a
death trap.
In any case, never, under any
circumstances, should open documents from sources that we do not know, even
less that arouse the slightest suspicion. If we receive an email notifying us or
informing us of something that we did not request or that we have no idea what
it is about, it goes without saying that that
attached message should never be opened.
