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Microsoft Provides Tighter Controls for Macro Execution

March 23, 2016

It seems like more and more vendors need to focus on solutions that protect users from themselves. Distribution of malware by utilizing Office macros is on the rise. The first version of Locky ransomware is delivered via a Word macro. Even though macro execution is disabled by default, users still helpfully enable macros when prompted with a dialog box. In other words, we get a warning before the bad stuff happens, yet we still click on the "allow" button.

Microsoft is tightening up controls for whether a user can execute a macro. System administrators can control macro authorization in Office 2016 using a Group Policy. The control will allow admins to stop macro execution for macros that come from unsafe sources, which typically means the Internet. Microsoft explains. "It enables enterprise administrators to block macros from running in Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents that come from the Internet." It's just another effort to protect users from themselves.

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