With VBA macros (Visual Basic for Applications) can be used to automate complex tasks in Office programs such as Excel and Word – which is why they are popular with many people and, especially in companies, it would be hard to imagine life without them. Cyber criminals know this too, of course. To prevent such attacks, Microsoft will soon lock VBA macros by default. COMPUTER BILD reveals how this works and how to activate the required functions.
New lock for VBA macros
VBA macros have also been disabled in Microsoft Office up until now, but they can be switched on easily. Because as soon as you open a Word or Excel file with an integrated macro, the program asks for permission to start the necessary function in a yellow, familiar notification bar. In the same way, Windows asks for the necessary activation of the network share in Windows Explorer, for example – a good thing, one thinks. In the worst case, anyone who clicks the button in good faith will not activate a useful function, but rather a malicious script that loads more malware onto the computer. Because apparently too many people fell victim to this trick, Microsoft is now securing the macro lock with additional protection.
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As the group announced in the “Microsoft 365 Blog”, VBA macros can no longer be activated thoughtlessly with a click in the future. A red warning bar then appears instead of the yellow warning. Instead of the previous activation button, it only contains a link that leads to the “A potentially dangerous macro has been blocked” website. Those affected will find instructions there with which they can activate the macros they need if necessary, see the next section. As Microsoft explains, the change initially only affects the upcoming Office version 2203 for Windows, which is scheduled to appear as a preview version in April 2022. After that, the group also wants to equip the previous versions up to Office 2013 with the macro lock. However, he has not yet given a specific date.
Office: Enable macros
The scheduled macro lock only blocks files that come from untrustworthy sources like the Internet. Anyone who uses macros within a company network is therefore not affected. To unlock a file on demand, clear its online mark, called the Mark of the Web (MOTW):
Save the Office file in question to a local hard drive, network share, or cloud folder.
Start Windows Explorer.
Right-click the locked file in the context menu that appears properties.
In the new window below General A security warning appears at the bottom. Check the box there Allowconfirm with OK. Ready!
As Microsoft explains, the protection only applies to drives formatted with the NTFS file system. It therefore does not work on removable drives, which mostly use the older FAT system.
