Managing Application Security Settings

     

Microsoft Office has several built-in security features designed to ensure the safety of files used within its programs. Each application within the Office Suite contains configuration options to set its security.

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You must have a thorough understanding of the security features within Microsoft Office applications.


Managing Security Settings for Office Applications

You can access the security features from the Options dialog box opened through the Tools menu. The Security tab of this dialog box is separated into the following areas:

  • File Encryption Options for This Document

  • File Sharing Options for This Document

  • Privacy Options

  • Macro Security

Figure 8.6 displays the Security tab located in Microsoft Word.

Figure 8.6. The Security tab of the Options dialog box in Word.

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The Security tabs are similar for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Outlook also has a Security tab; however, the available options are customized to specifically modify email security settings. On the other hand, Access does not have a Security tab in its Options dialog box, but it has its own User and Group Accounts security to determine user -level security for individual databases.


The security options are summarized in Table 8.8.

Table 8.8. Security Settings

Options

Description

File encryption

Sets or checks the file encryption for the current document. The Password to Open text box sets the password to view the document. The Advanced button allows you to choose which type of encryption to use.

File sharing

Sets the password for users who will be able to modify the document. You can also set the document to recommend read-only when it is opened. The modify password is not required to use the read-only feature. The Digital Signatures button allows you to add or remove digital signatures. The Protect Document button protects the document for tracked changes, comments, or forms.

Privacy Options

Enable you to remove personal information from the file and issue warnings before printing, sending, or saving documents that contain tracked changes or comments. You also can store a random number to improve merge accuracy.

Macro Security

Allows you to set which level of security you will use on your system for files that contain Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code and macros.


Configuring Macro Security Settings

In regards to Basic Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, macro is a general term that also implies ActiveX controls, COM objects, OLE objects, and any executable that can be attached to a document, worksheet, or email message. However, when you use the term with respect to Outlook, Microsoft Publisher, and Microsoft FrontPage, it is used only for a macro written in Visual Basic for Applications. The macro itself is a mini-program that automates a procedure. It could be as simple as selecting a predefined range in Excel and printing that range or as complex as required.

You can configure macro security using one of three settings: High, Medium, or Low. Figure 8.7 displays the Security dialog box, and Table 8.9 summarizes the security levels available and the result of each configuration.

Figure 8.7. Security dialog box.

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Table 8.9. Security Settings

Options

Description

High

Allows only signed macros from trusted sources to run.

Medium

Allows the user to choose whether the macro can be executed.

Low

Allows the user to execute all macros without the warning. This setting is not recommended.


Depending on the security configuration, opening a file that contains a macro produces different results. For example, the Medium setting prompts the user to either enable or disable the macros. Figure 8.8 displays the warning message that appears when a file containing a macro is opened.

Figure 8.8. Warning message that the macro may contain viruses.

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The warning message allows the user to either enable or disable the embedded macros. To avoid this message, you must set the security level to Low.

This message may be annoying to users, but it is to their advantage to endure the pain. The Low security setting does not present the prompt to users, and macros are allowed to run. Any certificates attached to macros run under Low security are not posted to the trusted source list for Office applications. Only when security is set to Medium or High and a user agrees to trust a certificate is a certificate added to Office's trusted source list. This list of security settings does not present the Low security option because Low security is the same for all cases.

After the macro security settings are configured, they are applied to all applications in the Microsoft Office Suite. Even though macro security is the same among these applications, you must consider how each security setting affects associated features in an application. For example, disabling an ActiveX control in Outlook or Excel may limit functionality in each application to different degrees that are acceptable or unacceptable for users.

Macro security is determined by the certificate associated with an application's data file or email message. Attaching a certificate of authenticity to a file requires the user to obtain a certificate from a certificate authority (CA) such as VeriSign. You can contact VeriSign at http://www.verisign.com.

Under all security-setting levels, if an antivirus service compatible with the Microsoft XP antivirus API is installed, and you open a document that contains macros, the antivirus service scans the document for known viruses.

You can use two types of antivirus services with Office. The first type reviews the file as it arrives either from a disk or from over the network; the second type reviews the file each time an application opens it. An antivirus service compatible with the Office antivirus API examines the file when the application opens it.

If a virus is found, the user is notified prior to the file being activated, and a message is displayed in the work area of the application. Virus services compatible with the Office antivirus API and installed on the computer are noted at the bottom of the application's Security dialog box. If the computer does not have an antivirus service compatible with the API, the No virus scanner installed message appears at the bottom of the Security dialog box, as shown in Figure 8.9.

Figure 8.9. The antivirus software installation indicator on the Security dialog box.

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Configuring Outlook Security Settings

The Security tab in Outlook's Options dialog box is significantly different from the Security tabs in other programs in the Office Suite, as you can see in Figure 8.10.

Figure 8.10. Outlook's Security tab.

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Table 8.10 summarizes the features found in Outlook's Security tab.

Table 8.10. Outlook Security Settings

Options

Description

Secure Email

Allows a user to configure incoming and outgoing messages

Secure Content

Allows a user to set the security zone when viewing HTML messages

Digital IDs (Certificates)

Allows a user to get a new digital ID, import and export existing digital IDs , or publish existing digital IDs to the Global Address List (GAL




MCDST 70-272 Exam Cram 2. Supporting Users & Troubleshooting Desktop Applications on a Windows XP Operating System (Exam Cram 2)
MCSA/MCSE 70-291 Exam Cram: Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0789736187
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 119
Authors: Diana Huggins

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