We have been recently made aware of a "Zero-Day" vulnerability in Microsoft Word documents. These documents can be created by hackers who intend to infect user's computers. Most common way of spreading this infection is thru emailed Word attachments and possibly such files that can be downloaded from the Internet.
This vulnerability affects all versions of Microsoft Office. Microsoft is supposedly working to release a patch to protect against this vulnerability and should come out as early as today. (Monthly Patch Tuesday).
What can you do to protect yourself?
1. Make sure your system receives the latest patches when they are released from Microsoft. Biz Tech Helpers does this for our Managed Services customer PCs. However, Microsoft does a reasonably good job of applying patches, unless the user refuses to allow updates.
2. Make sure Office Protected View Mode is turned on on your PC. This is turned on by default when Office is installed. To access this Trust Center menu to check your settings, while in Microsoft Word click File > Options, then Trust Center > Protected View.
3. Do not disable Protected View on Office documents unless you are sure that the document is safe, AND you actually need to edit or print it.
4. The usual safe practices apply - do not open attachments that you suspect may not have been sent by a known sender, and for a reason that you are aware of.
For more information, you may want to read the information on the following link: https://arstechnica.com/security/2017/04/booby-trapped-word-documents-in-the-wild-exploit-critical-microsoft-0day/
