{"id":27214,"date":"2021-10-05T16:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-05T14:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/how-to-better-protect-yourself-from-malware-from-office-documents\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T15:33:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T13:33:23","slug":"how-to-better-protect-yourself-from-malware-from-office-documents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/perseus.de\/en\/how-to-better-protect-yourself-from-malware-from-office-documents\/","title":{"rendered":"How to better protect yourself from malware from Office documents"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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How to better protect yourself from malware from Office documents\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Everyday Clues | Cybersecurity | Microsoft Office<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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85% of all German companies use Microsoft Office as their office software of choice. Many documents are also created, edited and shared privately with Word & Co. But cybercriminals also like to use Office programs \u2013 to spread malware. We’ll tell you how you can better protect yourself against it. <\/strong><\/p>

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How cybercriminals can misuse Office documents<\/strong><\/h4>

Office documents are popular gateways for cybercriminals. Not only because of the widespread use of Microsoft programs, but also because active content can be integrated into Office documents. This active content is ultimately small programs. And cybercriminals can use them for their own purposes. For example, such a program can ensure that malware is downloaded from the Internet. Some companies and institutions are taking drastic protective measures against such attack opportunities. For example, they automatically delete all emails with attached, open Office documents. Or all emails whose attached Office documents contain active content. PDF documents, on the other hand, are usually accepted as attachments. <\/p>

The protective measures recommended below do not go that far. Therefore, you are always in demand. Your eye, your attention, or even just your gut feeling that something is wrong with a document or an email attachment can prevent major damage. So stay mindful. <\/p>

Important: In companies, clear guidelines for handling Office documents are indispensable. This is especially true for documents from external sources, such as applications and invoices. The experts at Perseus will be happy to advise you. <\/p>

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Measure 1: Distrust all Office documents that have not been specifically announced <\/strong><\/h4>

What is the ideal case if you receive malware in the form of an Office document? They recognize the document as suspicious and do not open it. You have already nipped the possible attack in the bud \u2013 bravo!
Therefore, treat all Office documents you receive critically. In particular, surprising invoices, reminders or order confirmations that are received by e-mail. <\/p>

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Measure 2: Do not open documents with administrator rights <\/strong><\/h4>

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What are administrator rights?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

Computers need to be managed, set up, and updated. This requires deep interventions in the system. Whoever takes on this task is considered an administrator \u2013 and needs unlimited access rights to all systems of the computer. These unlimited access rights are therefore also called administrator rights. <\/p>

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What is problematic about administrator rights?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

Because administrator privileges allow unlimited access to a computer, their abuse can cause enormous damage. It is sufficient if a malware program is executed with administrator rights. Because then it can make all the changes you want to your computer. <\/p>

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What to do? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>