There has recently been coverage in the news about a security flaw in Microsoft PowerPoint (and other Office products as well), that could allow a remote attacker to gain access to a PC or system. As usual, this is much ado about nothing if you are paying attention to what you are doing on your PC.
In order for the security flaw to be exploited:
1) You have to open an infected PowerPoint. In most cases, this would mean something that you were emailed or that you downloaded off the internet. First way to keep safe: Don’t open files that you aren’t expecting or that you have downloaded off the internet.
2) In Office 2010 and 2013, if you have not modified the default settings, Office warns you before running code on an Office file. (This functionality may have existed in 2007…but if you are still using 2003 or 2007, time to upgrade!) This functionality was created specifically to limit these types of attacks. Second way to keep safe: Run an updated version of Office and don’t enable code that you aren’t expecting.
For more details – you can visit this link.
Don’t get us wrong – this is a serious security flaw, but if you follow the normal rules of staying safe on the internet, your risk is very low.
