Your Microsoft Excel Data Protected Against Ransomware

New Delhi: To safeguard consumers from security concerns such as ransomware, Microsoft has disabled several commands in Excel 4.0.

Microsoft published a new Excel Trust Center setting option in July 2021 that restricts the use of Excel 4.0 (XLM) macros (a series of commands).

"As planned, we have now made this setting the default when opening Excel 4.0 (XLM) macros. This will help our customers protect themselves against related security threats," the tech giant said in a blog post.

Using Excel 4.0 macros, the goal is to protect clients from ransomware and other malware groups.

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"State-sponsored and cybercriminal attackers started experimenting with legacy Excel 4.0 macros in response to Microsoft in 2018 cracking down on macro scripts written in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)," reports ZDNet.

Administrators can also configure this parameter using the current Microsoft 365 applications policy control.

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Administrators can also use the Group Policy "Prevent Excel from Running XLM Macros," which is adjustable via the Group Policy Editor or registry key, to completely prohibit the use of XLM macros (including in new user-created files).