Problems Solved
Is Word 2003 still safe to use?
QI was working in Microsoft Office Word 2003 recently and not connected to the internet. Suddenly, a warning came up purporting to be from Microsoft, saying that a file had become infected with a virus. This warning also had the Kaspersky logo at the top. On reflection, I realise it was probably a phony alert. However, without really thinking, I clicked the OK button, as it said it would disinfect my PC. It was at this point that I lost control of my PC, with Windows 7 shutting down.
I suppose the real Kaspersky took over and fortunately on restarting everything went back to normal. What I would like to know is what happened here, and how dangerous is it using Word 2003? I hate change and once one is used to knowing a certain program it is most annoying to have to switch. Richard Ives
AThe cautious answer is that Word 2003 is no longer safe to use. All support for the program, along with the rest of the Office 2003 suite, ended in April 2014. That means Microsoft no longer issues bug or security fixes for the Office 2003 programs. If unscrupulous cyber-crooks discover new security flaws in Word 2003 then you’re pretty much at their mercy. So, if you want a 100 per cent guarantee of safety, we have to tell you to stop using the program.
However, as long as you have good security software installed – and you do, in the shape of Kaspersky – abandoning Word 2003 could be considered an overreaction. As we’ll explain, if you’re careful about the documents that you open, and take a couple of steps to improve the program’s own security, then you can continue using it with reasonable confidence that it’s still safe to do so. But remember, you will do so at your own risk.
First, though, we’re not entirely sure what you mean when you say that you weren’t connected to the internet? Even when not actively using a web browser a PC is generally still connected to the online world. It’s possible that what you saw was a fake web pop-up message masquerading as a security alert, which are sadly all too common.
However, it’s also possible that you opened a document that contained what’s known as a macro virus. These were – and remain – a genuine threat for users of older versions of Office. Not all macros are designed for useful purposes, and the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) language that powers them has been used to create tools of digital terror.
Word 2003 does offer some protection against such macro viruses but it needs to be enabled. Open the Tools section and choose Options. Next, click Security, then Macro Security. Next, select the Security Level and, there, choose the Medium option (see screenshot left) then click OK. Now, if you open a document that contains macros, you’ll be asked if you’re sure you want to continue. Only click Yes if you’re sure that a document contains trusted macros.
QMy main security software is Malwarebytes. I also make use of Windows Defender, mainly to double-check downloaded files, because it’s quicker than launching Malwarebytes. I assumed this was working well because my PC hadn't suffered any infections. However, the other day when scanning a single file, I noticed that Defender’s results screen said “3 Files scanned”. I then experimented a bit and found this happened a lot. For example, when scanning individual Word documents that I'd created myself, Defender would sometimes say it had scanned several files! I don’t know what’s going on, but I find it a bit alarming. Hope you can explain. Norman Fullerton
AThis is unlikely to be anything to worry about. Many files you might download from the web will be compressed, typically in ZIP format. Even though a ZIP file downloads as a single unit, and appears similarly on your PC, it’s really just a ‘container’ – and might have dozens or even hundreds of files compressed within it. Windows Defender, along with pretty much any other reliable security program, will look ‘inside’ the ZIP file so that everything it contains is scanned.
Believe it or not, many other file types also act as containers. This includes the DOCX format that was introduced with Word 2007. Indeed, the DOCX format compresses the contents of your document, so it’s similar to a ZIP file in this regard. You can even fool Windows into ‘seeing’ a DOCX file as a ZIP file, so you can then expand its contents to see what’s inside.
To do that, right-click a DOCX file and choose Rename. Now delete the '.docx' file extension, replace it by typing .zip then pressing Enter. You can now right-click the file again and choose Extract All to expand the document’s full contents into a new folder (see screenshot).
If you do this, you’ll find the number of individual files inside the DOCX file will be the same or at least closer to what Windows Defender reports. We say ‘closer to’ because it’s possible that the container file could itself hold more container files, so it might be a bit of a rabbit hole.
QMy old Samsung Galaxy Tab E (pictured) runs Android 4.4.4 (Kitkat). I now only have 720MB free space of the 8GB memory. There are a lot of pre-installed apps that I don’t want but can’t delete. Why can’t I get the majority of the apps on to my instalinstalled SD card card? Currently, therthere’s only 1.321.32GB used on my 332GB card. Is therthere a way to move apps to the SD ccard or, failinfailing that, can I deledelete the disadisabled and unwaunwanted apps? Alan Hughes Jones
AWe don’t have any good news we're afraid. You can’t delete these manufacturerinstalled apps. Disabling them will free up a little space, because their various caches and preference stores will be erased – but you’ve already done that.
And there's more ill tidings. Android 4.4.4 doesn't allow apps to be moved to or run from an SD card. Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) enables this but it’s not officially available for your particular Tab E model, and never will be.
One possibility would be to root the device, thus breaking Samsung’s electronic locks to allow you to install later versions of Android. The XDA Developers website, at www.snipca.com/28576, is the go-to destination for devicespecific instructions on this process. However, the nail in the coffin is that no one there has ever managed to root your particular Tab E model to run even Android 5.0 (Lollipop), so 6.0 is a pipe dream. In other words, there’s nothing you can do.