Office 2016 getting new ability to block macro-based malware

Brad Stephenson

Man and woman in an office using Microsoft Continuum on a Windows Phone and monitor

Last year, Microsoft acknowledged that macro-malware was on the rise and now, a year later, they’ve implemented new security protocols in the latest update to Office 2016 to help combat this problem and keep users safe.

In a recent post on Microsoft’s Technet blog, the company has revealed that over 98% of Office-targeted attacks use macros and while this percent is attempted attacks and not successful ones, it remains a concern for many.

Macro-malware heavily relies on targets opening them when attached to an email or other document. These new safety features in Office 2016 essentially allow an administrator to control what level of macro can be access by users in specific situations and sends a significantly stronger warning message to the user. This new security measure reduces the risk factor of non-tech savvy individuals putting an entire company at risk by opening suspicious emails. It’s an added layer to the Protected View feature that was introduced back in 2010.

Do you worry about security on your device? What precautions do you take? Let us know in the comments below.