Last week, we reported that Microsoft was backtracking the block placed on VBA macros in Office by default The move was met with confusion by business owners who heavily rely on VBA macros on a daily basis as the move would negatively impact them. This is despite the fact that it will prevent hackers from compromising their systems using malicious macros,
But as it now appears, Microsoft still intends to move ahead with its initial plan to block VBA macros on downloaded documents by default. Therefore, IT admins will still be able to prevent Office users from easily enabling macros in Office files downloaded from the internet. (via The Verge)
Here’s what Microsoft had to say regarding the rollback:
Following user feedback, we have rolled back this change temporarily while we make some additional changes to enhance usability. This is a temporary change, and we are fully committed to making the default change for all users.
Microsoft has not indicated the changes it intends to implement only that Office users will need to check the unblock option in the properties of a file in order to use macros. But based on Tom Warren’s speculations, “Microsoft is reacting to feedback to potentially make it a little easier to enable macros on trusted files”. We will be sure to keep tabs on this story as it unfolds. Keep it here OnMSFT.com for more updates.
