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Hello,

I just received this message and thought I would pass it along.  I respectfully 
cut links and text that did not have anything to do with the story so you would 
not have to sort through it to get the news:


Microsoft advises 'safe mode' for Word | Tech News on ZDNet
Microsoft advises 'safe mode' for Word
By
Joris Evers,
CNET News.com
Published on
ZDNet News:
May 23, 2006, 4:25 PM PT

In the wake of at least one targeted attack that exploits a new flaw in Word, 
Microsoft is advising users to run the application in "safe mode."

Running Word in the restricted mode will not fix the vulnerability, but it will 
help block known modes of attack, Microsoft said in a
security advisory
published late Monday. The software maker is also developing a security update 
for Word, which should be available on June 13 or sooner, as warranted, the
company said.

Enabling "safe mode" is a two-step process. The first part involves disabling 
the use of Word as an e-mail client, the second is appending "/safe" to the
command line that starts Word. Microsoft provides instructions for home and 
enterprise users in its security advisory.

News of the
Word flaw and attack surfaced last week.
Word 2002 and Word 2003 are vulnerable, but Word 2000 is not, Microsoft said. 
For an attack to be carried out, a PC user must open a malicious Word document
sent in an e-mail or otherwise provided by an attacker, it said.

Aside from changing the way Word runs, people can protect their systems by being 
careful in the opening of Word documents received as an unexpected e-mail
attachment, Microsoft said.

Read the latest Talkback post
Easy Fix
Instead of hobbling Word, simply upgrade to OpenOffice.org and watch your 
worries melt away. ( 


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