Macro Malware threats designed to fool the victims

Macro malware is a generic name for a type of computer infection that uses Microsoft Office macro commands. Cyber ​​criminals design MS Office documents and run commands that will download and install viruses on the system. Most of the time, such infectious documents are spread using spam campaigns.

Cybercriminals send thousands of deceptive emails urging users to open Microsoft Office attachments. To make it even more credible, criminals often pose as employees of well-known companies, banks, government agencies and present such attachments as receipts, invoices, or other important documents. Once opened, the attachment displays an instant message asking users to enable macro commands, otherwise the content will not display correctly. However, if the instructions are followed, the attachment will run code that will inject malicious software into the system.

Protect yourself from Macro malware

To avoid this situation, you should be cautious when browsing the internet, the best we can do is:

▸Make sure macros are disabled in your Microsoft Office applications.

▸Don’t open suspicious emails or suspicious attachments.

▸Delete any emails from unknown people or with suspicious content. Spam emails are the main way for macro malware to spread.

▸Businesses can prevent macro malware from executing executable content using ASR rules.

There are dozens of spam campaigns used to spread malicious MS Office documents. For example, “USPS Email Virus”, “Royal Bank Of Canada Email Virus”, “Scotiabank Email Virus”, “Love Letter Email Virus”, and so on. As noted above, criminals send messages urging users to open attachments. The problem is that there are thousands of innocent and careless users who fall for the trap. They hope to get something for free, therefore criminals easily take advantage of users’ curiosity and recklessness.

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