Windows includes its own antivirus called Windows Defender, an antivirus that has little or nothing to envy to the rest of the antivirus on the market, including those that are paid or require an annual subscription. Both Windows Defender and the different alternatives available on the market allow us to protect the computer in real time based on lists that are updated every day, and that are almost the same as those used by all companies. However, they are fallible when it’s all about code that is executed through an application as is the case of macros.
Office macros, available in Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Access among others, allow us to automate repetitive tasks. A macro is a set of actions that are executed in the order that have been previously established, either recording mouse clicks or by using Visual Basic code. Macros are primarily used to automatically apply formatting to a document, but they can also be used to create actions that are not natively available in the application.
It’s a security risk
If we open an Office document that we have not created, the Office application that we use will display a message informing us that the document includes macros, macros that have been disabled for security. The application is not able to recognize if the macro included in the document is a macro created based on mouse clicks or if Visual Basic has been used to generate it based on a code. The only information you know for sure is that it is a macro.
Not being able to distinguish how the macro has been created, it automatically deactivates them, allowing the user to activate it, if he is sure of the document source. Macros created from Visual Basic may contain instructions in their code that are not intended to create an automation or perform an action that is not available in the application, but their mission may be focused on downloading malicious software from other sources on our computer, steal data, encrypt the drive, install applications or perform any action that may put the security of our PC at risk.
extremely useful
Despite the risk they pose, as long as they are files whose origin we do not know, macros are one of the most useful functions of the applications that are part of Office. The possibility of set same format to different documents with a single click allows us to increase our productivity by reducing the time needed to perform the same task continuously.
Excel It is the application that allows us to get the most out of macros, especially when we have to format data to create a delivery note, an invoice, a list or any other type of document that always has to use the same format. In word it is also especially useful for formatting documents by creating a structure containing tables and images that must always have the same format.
