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Thread: I screwed up - can I undo the damage?

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I screwed up - can I undo the damage?
MikeB <MPBrede[ at ]gmail.com> 11/12/2008 7:46:51 PM
OK, so first off, this might be slightly unbelievable - I myself might
not believe it if I read it in a newsgroup.
Computer
I'm at uni. and in my BCIS degree classes, there is a course on
Computer Security. For this course we look at security issues and
learn about all types of network attacks. We have a dedicated
computer Lab with an isolated network to work on.

One of the things we looked at was the code for the Melissa virus.
Then we were given instructions to write something similar as an
exercise. I figured I could see the parts where the virus were sending
out the emails, and that if I simply didn't write that part, I could
create/write the rest of the virus on my home computer and it'd be OK.

Unfortunately, some of the code in the virus disables the macro menu
options and a few other things, so now that I've run it once, I've
effectively disabled my Word. I cannot get back into the macro editor
to change the code or to stop the code from running when I open Word.
My original install disks are back home.

Are there ways to edit the registry to undo the changes or am I SOL?

Thanks.

I can post the code that I ran here, but thought it would be unwise to
do so.

As an aside, I'd like to kick the original author's ass (after kicking
my own, of course). :)
Re: I screwed up - can I undo the damage?
"Jay Freedman" <jay.freedman[ at ]verizon.net> 11/12/2008 8:39:12 PM
Nice one. ;-)

Assuming the macro that starts the code when Word loads is in an AutoExec
macro, you should be able to prevent it from running by holding down the
Shift key while starting Word. That will let you go into the VBA editor and
disable the code.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

MikeB wrote:
[Quoted Text]
> OK, so first off, this might be slightly unbelievable - I myself might
> not believe it if I read it in a newsgroup.
> Computer
> I'm at uni. and in my BCIS degree classes, there is a course on
> Computer Security. For this course we look at security issues and
> learn about all types of network attacks. We have a dedicated
> computer Lab with an isolated network to work on.
>
> One of the things we looked at was the code for the Melissa virus.
> Then we were given instructions to write something similar as an
> exercise. I figured I could see the parts where the virus were sending
> out the emails, and that if I simply didn't write that part, I could
> create/write the rest of the virus on my home computer and it'd be OK.
>
> Unfortunately, some of the code in the virus disables the macro menu
> options and a few other things, so now that I've run it once, I've
> effectively disabled my Word. I cannot get back into the macro editor
> to change the code or to stop the code from running when I open Word.
> My original install disks are back home.
>
> Are there ways to edit the registry to undo the changes or am I SOL?
>
> Thanks.
>
> I can post the code that I ran here, but thought it would be unwise to
> do so.
>
> As an aside, I'd like to kick the original author's ass (after kicking
> my own, of course). :)


Re: I screwed up - can I undo the damage?
MikeB <MPBrede[ at ]gmail.com> 11/12/2008 10:34:57 PM
On Nov 12, 2:39 pm, "Jay Freedman" <jay.freed...[ at ]verizon.net> wrote:
[Quoted Text]
> Nice one. ;-)
>
> Assuming the macro that starts the code when Word loads is in an AutoExec
> macro, you should be able to prevent it from running by holding down the
> Shift key while starting Word. That will let you go into the VBA editor and
> disable the code.

I tried that, but it seems it has set some permanent options
somewhere, and it disabled the Options menu item on the toolbar. :(
Re: I screwed up - can I undo the damage?
"Terry Farrell" <terryfarrell[ at ]msn.com> 11/12/2008 10:56:39 PM
Roll back to a Restore point prior to your boob.

--
Terry Farrell - MSWord MVP

"MikeB" <MPBrede[ at ]gmail.com> wrote in message
news:64d53622-05f1-48f6-b238-5d99bf735b5e[ at ]h23g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
[Quoted Text]
> On Nov 12, 2:39 pm, "Jay Freedman" <jay.freed...[ at ]verizon.net> wrote:
>> Nice one. ;-)
>>
>> Assuming the macro that starts the code when Word loads is in an AutoExec
>> macro, you should be able to prevent it from running by holding down the
>> Shift key while starting Word. That will let you go into the VBA editor
>> and
>> disable the code.
>
> I tried that, but it seems it has set some permanent options
> somewhere, and it disabled the Options menu item on the toolbar. :(

Re: I screwed up - can I undo the damage?
"Klaus Linke" <info[ at ]fotosatz-kaufmann.de> 11/14/2008 12:35:46 AM
"Jay Freedman" <jay.freedman[ at ]verizon.net> wrote:
[Quoted Text]
> Nice one. ;-)
>
> Assuming the macro that starts the code when Word loads is in an AutoExec
> macro, you should be able to prevent it from running by holding down the
> Shift key while starting Word. That will let you go into the VBA editor
> and disable the code.

Should be the Ctrl key?

Klaus

Re: I screwed up - can I undo the damage?
Jay Freedman <jay.freedman[ at ]verizon.net> 11/14/2008 1:20:50 AM
On Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:35:46 +0100, "Klaus Linke" <info[ at ]fotosatz-kaufmann.de>
wrote:

[Quoted Text]
>"Jay Freedman" <jay.freedman[ at ]verizon.net> wrote:
>> Nice one. ;-)
>>
>> Assuming the macro that starts the code when Word loads is in an AutoExec
>> macro, you should be able to prevent it from running by holding down the
>> Shift key while starting Word. That will let you go into the VBA editor
>> and disable the code.
>
>Should be the Ctrl key?
>
>Klaus

No, holding the Ctrl key while starting puts you into Safe Mode, which
suppresses not only macros but all customizations in Normal.dot as well as all
add-ins and registry customizations. Holding the Shift key simply disables any
Auto macros that might be present, the same as executing the VBA command
WordBasic.DisableAutoMacros 1.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit.

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