Member Avatar for phoebe

I use a Mac (Mac OS 10.4.10) with Microsoft Office for Mac. I have been told by PC users that my Word documents have a virus, and I don't know what to do to fix that problem.
There is information on the web that Norton Antivirus for Mac creates as many problems as it solves Any solutions or opinions?

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Likely cause: a Word macro in the document. On older Mac OS X (10.4.10) and older Office builds, VBA macros still exist and can be flagged by Windows AV scanners on PCs. The immediate goal is to avoid running any untrusted macro code and to strip or remove macros from suspect files.

Practical steps to inspect and clean a file safely:

  • Before opening, raise Word macro security to the highest level (Tools > Macro > Security...) so macros cannot run automatically.
  • Open the document with macros disabled. Check Tools > Macro > Macros to view and delete individual macros. Look especially for auto-start names like AutoOpen, AutoExec, or Document_Open.
  • Check templates/add-ins (Tools > Templates and Add‑ins) and your Normal template. The Normal template is usually at:
    ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/Normal.dot
    Rename or remove that file if it contains unexpected macros.
  • Create a macro-free copy: with macros disabled, use File > Print > Save as PDF or Save As > Rich Text Format / Plain Text to produce a copy that strips VBA.
  • Rescan the cleaned copy with a current scanner (preferably on the Windows machine that reported the alert) before sharing.

Precautions and next steps: do not open suspect documents on Windows machines until cleaned. Keep backups before deleting macros (some may be legitimate automation you need). Ask the PC user for the exact AV detection name — that helps confirm whether it is a known macro virus or a false positive. If uncomfortable doing this yourself, have someone experienced inspect the file.

Context from this thread: was pointing toward macro-virus guidance and ’s post underscores that scanning can catch problems. Because Tiger and old Office versions are out of support and receive no security updates, consider upgrading when possible to reduce future risk.

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Member Avatar for John A

I've never been unfortunate enough to get infected myself, but this how-to looks promising:

Member Avatar for Rick150

Use 'ClamXav' it caught 3 viruses last year for me.

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