One of the most popular viruses which are disrupting the MS Office related products is a Macro virus. Unfortunately, MS office is a very popular office suite programs which are used by millions. The impact of the virus is also vast if it is infected in the program.
Technically MS Office uses Macros to perform the actions and functions on a computer. Macro is a set of commands which work inside of the MS Office suite. In the initial days of spreading the virus, they targeted only the Windows OS users via MS Office. Like the MS Office available for Mac platform, they start spreading over Mac users.
Impact of Macro Virus
The OS’s which supports Microsoft Word can get the impact of the Macro virus. In this case, both Windows and macOS are vulnerable to the Macro virus.
The impact of the virus is total machine-wide since you are using Word file open and it will target the computer with a series of commands.
The infected systems show many symptoms to recognize the virus. After getting infected with the virus, Windows and macOS show the following signs.
- Both Windows and macOS shows much slower performance than the usual. Also, the performance will gradually slow down.
- You will get frequent notifications about the errors. If you receive several error messages in a day, it will be a sign of a Macro virus attack.
- Since it is an indirect hack attack on your computer, it will ask passwords to open some common and regularly usable files. For example, if you are trying to open a jpeg file and it weirdly asks for the password of your computer then it is a suspicious move.
How to remove Macro Virus from the computer?
Removing a Macro virus is a simple task if you have a good antivirus or antimalware suite ready to install. Select the best software suite that promises real-time scans and malware removal can capable of removing Macro virus from the computer.
Even for Mac users, there is plenty of antivirus software available and it is an easy thing to get rid of your machine.
Here I recommend Malwarebytes for both Windows and Mac users to get rid of the Macro virus.
- Download and install the Malwarebytes from the official website and install it on your Windows or macOS.
- Now perform a deep scan to thoroughly check the secretly infected files and malware on your machine.
- For an effective scan, it is advisable to perform a complete scan. It is time-consuming and sometimes it takes several hours depending on the hard disk size of your computer but it cleans viruses and malware completely from your computer.
Other popular antivirus software like Norton, Commodo, and Kaspersky are good options for Macro virus removal.
How to avoid Macro or other virus attacks?
There is a saying that prevention is always better than cure. It applies to virus attacks as well. Here are the best prevention techniques to avoid malware and virus attacks on Windows and macOS’s.
- Use genuine software: Viruses usually come from pirated software. If you are using a pirated version of MS Office suites, then you have a higher chance of infecting your entire system with a Macro virus. Avoid pirated software and buy genuine products to encourage the developers.
- Use only trusted websites: Potentially harmful sites can infect your system with various kinds of malware attacks. Visit only genuine and trusted sites to avoid viruses and malware.
- Avoid banner ads: When you browse websites sometimes you may encounter the pop-up banner ads. If they ask to click on the banner and insist you then you simply avoid it.
- Avoid unknown email attachments: Email attachments are the main source of spreading viruses and malware. Spammers cleverly create attractively looking emails with bogus content. If you ever open such emails, you have a 100% chance of getting infected.
Conclusion
So these are the best practices to remove and prevent Macro virus on Windows and Mac.
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