Hackers attack Excel, batten down the spreadsheet!
Users of Microsoft Excel for both Mac and Windows should beware. Microsoft issued a statement that certain version of the software have been targeted by hackers for attack. The versions are:
Microsoft Office Excel 2003 with Service Pack 2; Excel Viewer 2003; Excel 2002; Excel 2000; and Microsoft Excel 2004 for the Mac are affected by the security vulnerabilities, according to the advisory.
What can the average Excel user do? As with most viruses, avoid opening unknown emails or clicking to suspicious web sites. This specific vulnerability seems to be user activated, as so many of them are, and seems to prey on users who have set their user to be the administrator for the computer with poor or no password protection.
Microsoft said in its security blog that the attacks seem to be targeted, as opposed to generalized attacks that sometimes occur:
What does the hack attack do? It allows the hacked code access to a users computer via spreadsheet and executes a remote code execution. The Microsoft site does not specify what the remote code execution has been caught doing, however; when a remote code execution occurs your computer is vulnerable to manipulation by a third party. That is never good.
In the advisory (link above) Microsoft says that more recent copies of Excel and many of the versions for Mac are fine and are not susceptible to the hack. Regardless, it is always a good idea to protect your computer through a firewall, virus protection, and by not opening email attachments from people you don’t know.
Microsoft continues to encourage customers to follow the “Protect Your Computer” guidance of enabling a firewall, applying all software updates and installing anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Additional information can be found at: www.microsoft.com/protect.
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