Microsoft Word Virus Scanning.....

A friend was having problems with her Computer. She said that Word was always starting in safe mode. I took a look at her laptop and sure enough it was always starting in safe mode. Not only that but it was always scanning for a virus, even when opening a new document.

I. After some research, apparently it was suggested by Microsoft to always run Office products in safe mode. This was said to keep us safe from virus infective files. I found a way to stop this from happening. You can add “/a” to the end of the command which starts Word. To do this:

1. Right click on your desktop, select “New” and click on “Shortcut”.
   
2. Browse to where Word is located, usually "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE".
3. Add “ /a” (a space then slash a)
4. Click Next.
5. You can rename this or just click finish

Now you have a word which will load really fast. The reason for this is that the “/a” will not have word load any addins. Note: this will also not load any macros or preferences you have set. This is not an issue for most users.

II. The second issue was the virus scanning that was happening. This is due to installed third party anti-virus programs like Norton. These programs have setting, which tell them to scan documents when opening Microsoft office documents. This can be turned off. You have to find the settings in you virus protection software and turn off this option. My personal choice is AVG as a virus protection. I have posted here some helpful links and utilities I have use for virus/malware removal and protection.

References:

• http://en.allexperts.com/q/Microsoft-Word-1058/Word-opening-safe-mode.htm
• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301