Information Security Philippines

Microsoft has released a free tool called Microsoft Office Isolated Conversion Environment, or MOICE, to help protect users from malware placed in Office files, a vector of attack that has recently gained popularity. 

MOICE converts Word, Excel and PowerPoint docs to their OpenXML counterparts and opens them in a quarantined environment to protect users’ computers from embedded malicious payloads designed to exploit holes in Microsoft Office. 

MOICE works in tandem with the File Block, a tool that allows administrators to establish group policies regarding users’ permissions to open certain file types.  Both tools work out of the box with Microsoft ffice 2007. 

Microsoft Office 2003 users need to install the Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel and PowerPoint 2007 Office File Formats first. 

There currently is no protection offered for users running versions prior to Microsof Office 2003.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/935865

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 at 7:18 pm and is filed under InfoSec Developments, Security Tools, Software Updates, Vulnerability, Windows. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.