Microsoft announced earlier this year that Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros would be disabled by default in Office applications, a change that would apply to Office files downloaded from the Internet and containing macros, but Microsoft said Thursday that, based on user “feedback “, the change will be removed and VBA macros will no longer be disabled.
Macros in computer science are a term for batch processing that replaces certain patterns of text according to a set of predefined rules. An interpreter or compiler automatically performs this pattern substitution when it encounters a macro. macros are defined in Microsoft Word as a series of Word commands that can be organized together and used as a stand-alone command, thus making everyday work easier.
VBA macros are disabled by default as of version 2203, and because they are blocked by default, hackers can no longer use them to spread malware. On systems with automatic blocking of VBA macros enabled, customers will see a security warning “Security Risk: Microsoft has prevented macros from running because the source of this file is not trusted”, which when clicked on will open an article containing information about the security risks behind using Office macros and how to enable them only when absolutely necessary. instructions.
Kellie Eickmeyer, Microsoft’s chief program manager, previously said that although Microsoft provides a notification bar to alert users that a file contains macros, users can execute macros with the click of a button, and hackers often send Office files with built-in macros to users, and after inadvertently activating the macros, the system will be loaded with a variety of malicious content, some of which are malicious programs, or compromise the user’s identity Some are malicious programs, or compromise the user’s identity, cause data loss, or allow hackers to access them remotely.
But now Microsoft customers are noticing that Microsoft restored the change in Wednesday’s Current Channel, and downloaded Office documents with embedded macros will display the old “Enable Editing” or “Enable Content” button at the top. .
IT House has learned that Microsoft has not explained the reason behind this decision and has not yet publicly notified customers, only administrators in the Microsoft 365 Message Center, which means that malicious VBA macros in Office documents will no longer be automatically blocked in Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio and Word.
