Member Avatar for kgc

A friend of mine who still uses OS 9 called earlier today to let me know a word file he sent me has a macro virus. He can no longer open any word documents. I don't use word much but am now concerned since I don't run any virus protection and am not behind a firewall.

I also don't know much at all about this stuff in an OSX environment.

Can anyone help? I'm on a PowerMac G5 running Panther 10.3.9.

I just recently move to this computer and am having font headaches as well. My FontBook has completely crashed so I'm now running Suitcase instead but all that is a separate issue.

thanks--

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by kc0arf

Dani AI

Generated

A short, practical checklist for (Power Mac G5, Panther 10.3.9) and the OS 9 user that expands on ’s suggestion — what to do first, how to stop automatic spread, and how to recover Word without running unknown macros.

  1. Stop. Do not open any suspect .doc/.dot files and disconnect the affected machines from networks. Macro infections live inside Word/Office documents and templates, not the OS itself, so avoid launching Word until files are handled safely. (support.microsoft.com)

  2. Prevent auto‑execution. In Word’s macro/security settings set macros to the highest/“disable” level (Word Preferences or Tools > Macro > Security depending on version). If you must inspect a file, hold the Shift key while opening a document to suppress Auto macros. (support.microsoft.com)

  3. Rebuild Word’s global template (normal template). Quit Word, locate your Normal template and move or rename it (don’t delete until you have a backup). On Word 2004 for Mac this is usually in ~/Documents/Microsoft User Data; newer/other installs use ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates. Restart Word — it will create a fresh, macro‑free Normal template. Also check the Templates/Add‑Ins dialog and any Startup folders and remove unknown items. (addbalance.com)

  4. Scan before opening. Run a current antivirus/malware scanner (on the Mac or on a separate clean system) against the suspect documents and the user template you moved. If the OS 9 machine cannot be scanned easily, copy its documents to an external drive and scan them from a modern, updated system first — do not open them in Word until they are clean. If removal fails or Word remains unstable, reinstall Office after salvaging only scanned, macro‑free documents. (support.microsoft.com)

Note: Normal templates contain user styles and macros — back them up before changing. The FontBook/font problem you mentioned is unrelated; fix the infection first and then open a new thread for font troubleshooting.

Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

In your case, the Word Macro virus does all it's damage in Microsoft Word -- and it is on a different layer than the OS. A Macro virus should not affect your OS X install, unless you open Word and let it run it's course.

As you are using OS X, unless you went into the network control panel and moved things off the defaults, you are running a software firewall. That is a good thing.

To locate a nice free OS X antivirus package, look at ClamAV. It works with linux and OS X, and is free, and they are responsive. Check that package out to scan your drives, and make sure things are OK. You will notice that ClamAV doesn't have the usual charm of an OS X program -- that's ok, it is still configurable -- but it will feel a bit different, as it is designed by linux people.

As for your OS 9 friend, I have been out of OS 9 for too long now, and have not kept track of antivirus for the platform.

As for your other issue, please start a new thread about the problem with fontbook.

Christian

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