In the wake of at least one targeted attack that exploits a new flaw in Word, Microsoft is advising users to run the application in "safe mode".
Running Word in the restricted mode will not fix the vulnerability, but it will help block known modes of attack, Microsoft said in a security advisory published late on Monday. The software maker is also developing a security update for Word, which should be available on 13 June or sooner, as warranted, the company said.
Enabling "safe mode" is a two-step process. The first part involves disabling the use of Word as an email client, the second is appending "/safe" to the command line that starts Word. Microsoft provides instructions for home and enterprise users in its security advisory.
News of the Word flaw and attack surfaced last week. Word 2002 and Word 2003 are vulnerable, but Word 2000 is not, Microsoft said. For an attack to be carried out, a PC user must open a malicious Word document sent in an email or otherwise provided by an attacker, it said.
Aside from changing the way Word runs, people can protect their systems by being careful in the opening of Word documents received as an unexpected email attachment, Microsoft said.
In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in
Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below
By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Membership FAQ
Hi Jamie, I'm sorry your comment got caught in the spam filter. We use an industry standard blacklist for this. I suspect that the comment may...
4 hours ago by Karen Friar on Spam? Filter Changed?
Pop - Neither have I. Ever, under any circumstances. I'm much more accustomed to Windows slowly, but inexorably, consuming more and more disk...
5 hours ago by J.A. Watson on Can you believe it - 2765 kB will be freed?
Apple are currently pushing to get tv content on the iPad by April 3rd. This could possibly be seen as a spoiler for that announcement I suppose....
18 hours ago by John Molloy
Hey - presume you mean something that builds on Apple's existing TV device? Apple have already had a couple of runs at building Apple TV and it's...
24 hours ago by Andrew Donoghue on Google's TV timing may reveal more to come
Google, Sony, Intel may build TV project www.zdnet.co.uk/news/emerging-tech/2010/03/18/google-sony-intel-may-build-tv-project-40088359/
1 day ago on Twitter by BVE2011
70,0000 to 90,0000 computers? A very small number considering some of these botnets are in the millions, and there are so many of them operating,...
1 day ago by ator1940 on Microsoft says it decimated Waledac botnet I agree Roger, and why can't they write secure code? What will happen when they find stolen code in windows? They have a track record of...
1 day ago by ator1940 on Microsoft lashing out at Linux, open source Do you think it will really take days?
1 day ago by ator1940 on Microsoft previews Internet Explorer 9 with HTML 5 support
Wonder how many days it will take before somebody codes an exploitive hack for IE9?
2 days ago by Xwindowsjunkie on Microsoft previews Internet Explorer 9 with HTML 5 support
There are some really good people in Microsoft and I wonder, how embarassing it must be for them to see how the organisation behaves from it's...
2 days ago by roger andre on Microsoft lashing out at Linux, open source On further inspection, it looks like some things are missing, is it possible that there was a time lag between whatever state the site was in that...
2 days ago by J.A. Watson on Welcome to the new ZDNet UK community!
Ok. Now I'm getting annoyed. Previously I could just click on just about any item or comment I saw and get a reply box. How do I manage that...
2 days ago by Tezzer on ZDNet UK: faster, smarter, still IT all the way hey Roger. Think I have spotted a bug as when I click on my name it takes me to the same page as if I had clicked on "Edit Profile". i.e...
2 days ago by Andrew Donoghue on ZDNet UK - Now cleaner than an Archbishop's conscience
Great new look for ZDNET UK web-site http://bit.ly/9R5eAA to check it out @ZDNetUK #zdnet
2 days ago on Twitter by ajclarke
Microsoft previews Internet Explorer 9 with HTML 5 support - zdnet.co.uk http://bit.ly/9FSh23
2 days ago on Twitter by feedfrog
We were just pondering on when IE will get HTML5 and CSS3 onboard! this is excellent
2 days ago by kencogold on Microsoft previews Internet Explorer 9 with HTML 5 support
RT @suziedaniels: relaunched www.zdnet.co.uk raises the bar yet again! its so fast it makes my eyes bleed.
2 days ago on Twitter by riptari This is brilliant - I borrowed one and straight away saw that a few AP`s were set up to the wrong country. It gives interference levels on each...
2 days ago by Bob Preece on Fluke Networks AirCheck Wi-Fi Tester
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/networking/2010/03/11/european-parliament-votes-down-acta-treaty-40085614/ (Where does this leave #Debill?)
2 days ago on Twitter by _SimonArnoldmeFor multi-store outlets, including retail, banking, grocery, gas, hospitality, convenience stores and others, reducing (or avoiding) the cost of in-store system support and maintenance while maintaining compliance with PCI and other requirements has become a strategic challenge.
Speaker: Dr. Chenxi Wang, Principal Analyst, Security and Risk Management, Forrester Research, Inc. As Enterprises are increasingly connected to the Internet and as hard organizational boundaries are fast disappearing, security professionals are facing fresh challenges in Enterprise computing.
This tutorial is for new MindManager users and teaches you how to get started, by creating maps, reading maps and organizing your information.
Talkback
Alternatively, install the free OpenOffice.org and let it handle your .doc files until the problem is resolved.
24 May 06 10:02 ReplyBetter yet - install OpenOffice and use the Open Document Format to replace the defunct .doc format - it is only a short time before you will be doing this anyway.
24 May 06 11:06 ReplyMicrosoft says Word 2000 isn't vulnerable, yet eEye says it is.
25 May 06 12:49 ReplyFrom SANS:
Microsoft says the vulnerability only affects Word 2002/XP and Word 2003 and that Word 2000 is not vulnerable. The Microsoft advisory contains information on workarounds including not using Word as the default mail editor in Outlook and running Word in 'Safe Mode' to disable the functionality that is affected by the vulnerability and exploit.
eEye says that the vulnerability affects Word 2000 as well. The eEye advisory mentions that they believe there are two variants of this exploit. Thus, it may be that the first variant only affects Word 2002/XP and 2003 and the second variant affects all three versions.
eEye advisory: http://www.eeye.com/html/resources/newsletters/alert/pub/AL20060523.html?sb=kwkbmvamunbmvambckmn