Macro viruses are another class of virus that can also be very destructive. Any program such as a word processor or spread sheet that provides a macro programming language could possibly be a target of a macro virus. With the prevalence of Microsoft Word in the world today, macro viruses may be the most common type of virus. Since macros may be required to even view a document, it is impractical to completely disable the macro feature of your word processor. Therefore, the only protection you really have is to use a good quality virus scanning program.
All major virus scanning software vendors provide free updates on their Web sites.
If you download and run a lot of software from the Net, there's always the chance of bringing home one of these bugs. There are excellent virus protection programs available that scan your hard drive for viruses and delete them. Both offer regular updates to handle newly discovered viruses. All rights reserved. The InFoPeople Project is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.