How to Protect Yourself From Microsoft Word Malware?

Data breach and malware attacks are common issues these days and you may find several such news floating on the internet. Cyber-criminals nowadays employ latest techniques to hack the personal & financial data of internet users. The latest addition to this technique is malware attack through an MS Word document.

How does it work?

Just like any other phishing email, you may get these particular type of emails with a subject line ‘Unpaid Invoice’ or ‘New Fax Received’ etc. These emails which come with Microsoft Word Doc as an attachment may seem to be from company/organization you may have been associated with or any known person. Once clicked on the attachment, you will be directed to a malicious website and the security of your PC can be compromised. Clicking on such kind of attachment allows malware to intrude into your system. A particular type of Trojan by the name of Zeus Panda is released by hackers via these types of phishing emails to steal the online banking credentials of internet users.

How to Protect Yourself From Microsoft Word Malware?

In order to keep your PC safe from phishing attacks, you must use an antivirus software, which is capable of providing protection from phishing attacks. Instead of using a free antivirus software, it’s better to go for a paid version as a basic version is not well equipped to deal with latest internet threats.

However, having an antivirus is not sufficient alone, you need to remain alert and aware of the basics of cyber safety. When you mistakenly click on any MS Word attachment that comes with strange subject line, never enable Macros. Popularly known as Macro Virus, this malware easily spreads via disk, network drive, external drive media, or other file transfer mediums. Hence, it’s important not to click on any random attachment that you get on your emails.