Microsoft issued Office protection tools

On May 22, Microsoft issued two editing tools for Office 2003 to prevent the possibility of attaching malicious code to the files of this application .

Both new tools were announced by Microsoft earlier this month to combat "zero-day" attacks (taking advantage of unpatched vulnerabilities to attack the system). This type of attack has become popular in recent months when hackers have been searching for vulnerabilities in Office to break into the corporate network.

The first tool is Microsoft Office Isolated Conversion Environment (MOICE), for Office 2003 and Office 2007, which helps combat "zero-day" attacks. This tool does not work with other Office versions except the two versions above.

The working mechanism of MOICE is to convert (convert) Office 2003 binary files into Office Open XML format used in Office 2007, capable of blocking malicious codes during processing. More importantly, this transition takes place in a completely isolated environment, eliminating the possibility of malicious code running on the system.

The second tool is File Block Functionality, also for Office 2003 and Office 2007, which helps system administrators determine which file types are and are not opened by the user. This allows the system administrator to block access to certain files when a threat arises.

Details of the two new Office protection tools are provided by Microsoft on its website.