WD97: Template Security Patch Installation Considerations and Issues

ID: Q215462

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

This article contains important information about the Word Template Security Patch. The following topics are covered in this article:


The Word Template Security Patch is available from the following address:
http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/downloaddetails/wd97sp.htm

NOTE: The Template Security Patch utility can only be applied to the U.S. English versions of Microsoft Word 97 Service Release 1 (SR-1) and Microsoft Word 97 Service Release 2 (SR-2).


MORE INFORMATION

The Security Issue

A document file can potentially be attached to a non-trusted template that contains macros. Microsoft Word considers documents and templates that are stored in either the user templates folder or the workgroup templates folder as trusted or free of unwanted macro viruses. To determine where Word is storing your trusted user and workgroup templates, click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the File Locations tab.

Microsoft provides a Word Template Security Patch to protect your documents from macro viruses that could potentially be spread from a non-trusted template.

With the Template Security Patch applied, Word warns you with the following warning when the document you are opening is attached to a non-trusted template containing macros:

   The document you are opening contains macros or customizations. Some
   macros may contain viruses that could harm your computer.

   If you are sure this document is from a trusted source, click Enable
   Macros. If you are not sure and want to prevent any macros from running,
   click Disable Macros.

Installation Considerations

The Word Template Security Patch utility can only be applied to Microsoft Word 97 (SR-1) and (SR-2). Original or base Microsoft Office or Word 97 installations must first be patched with SR-1 before the Template Security Patch can be applied.

NOTE: This patch modifies the Microsoft Word executable file. Reinstalling Microsoft Office 97 or updating SR-1 to SR-2 will require that the Template Security Patch be applied to your system again.

How to Determine Whether Word SR-1 or SR-2 Is Installed on My System

You can the check your version of Word with the About dialog box. To check Microsoft Word, follow these steps:
  1. Open Microsoft Word 97.


  2. On the Help menu, click About Microsoft Word.


  3. Determine whether the dialog box contains the following text:



      Microsoft Word 97 SR-1
-or- 

      Microsoft Word 97 SR-2


How the Security Patch Can Be Applied to an Administrative Network Installation

The Word Template Security Patch can be applied to an administrative "run from network server" installation of Word, provided that you have the privileges to write to the network directory where the Word executable resides. To patch a "run from network server" installation, follow these steps:
  1. Log on as an administrator (or as any user with write access to the installation directory) on a workstation that runs Word from the server.


  2. Close any open sessions to the Microsoft Word executable.


  3. Run the Template Security Patch.


After the patch is complete, users at other workstations will have protection from macro viruses that could be spread from a non-trusted template the next time they start Word.

How to Determine Whether Word SR-1 or SR-2 Was Patched

You can verify that your Word executable has been successfully patched by running the Wd97SP.exe program. The utility can determine whether your Word program was previously patched and notifies you with the following message:

	Microsoft Word has already been patched.


How to "Silently" Install the Patch (Without User Prompts)


You can apply the Security Patch silently to Word 97 installations by first extracting the Wdpatch.exe file and running it with command-line switches.
To extract the patch executable, follow these steps:
  1. From the directory where you downloaded the patch, Wd97sp.exe, type the following command:
    wd97sp.exe /t:c:\temp /c
    This command extracts Wdpatch.exe to the directory c:\temp.


  2. Copy Wdpatch.exe into a directory other than the Temp directory.


  3. Run the patch from a command line with the following switches: -s -p. This command line could be distributed via Systems Management Server or some other automated tool. The command line should look similar to the following:
    
C:\wdpatch.exe -s -p c:\program files\microsoft office\office\winword.exe


    4. Winword.exe is then patched in silent mode, with no user prompts.

Troubleshooting Patch Errors


When you run the Template Security Patch, it checks the Windows Registry for the location of the Word executable file and then performs a test to make sure that you actually have Microsoft Word 97 SR-1 or SR-2 installed on your computer.

Specifically, the patch will fail if the following key in the Microsoft Windows registry refers to an incorrect location for Microsoft Word 97:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{000209FF-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\LocalServer32

Run Setup with the /y Switch to Correct the Registry

Try running Setup /y for Word or Office to repair registry corruption. To run Setup with the /y switch, follow these steps:
  1. Insert the Word or Office CD into the CD drive. If you installed Word or Office from floppy disks, insert the Setup Disk 1 in your computer's floppy disk drive.


  2. Click the Start button and then click Run.


  3. In the Open box, type the following:

    <drive>:\setup /Y
    where <drive> is the letter of the drive that contains the CD or Setup Disk 1.


  4. Click OK.


  5. Click Reinstall.


This re-registers Word and all Office programs, if you run Office Setup.

Disable Virus Protection Before Running the Patch

Some virus protection programs can interfere with the Template Security Patch. If you use a virus protection program on your computer, please disable it before running the patch. (You can re-enable the virus protection program after the patch is complete.)

Additional query words: security html email 


Keywords          : kbdta kbtemplate word8 word97 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: June 30, 1999