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Troubleshoot security and password protection
 

Passwords

ShowWhen I save my presentation as a Web page, the presentation is no longer password-protected.

Although most aspects of your presentation are maintained when you save it as a Web page, Microsoft PowerPoint does not maintain password (password: A sequence of characters needed to access computer systems, files, and Internet services. Strong passwords combine uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.) protection or enable you to create a password after you've saved the presentation as a Web page. To preserve a password, save a copy of your presentation in it's original format before saving it as a Web page.

ShowThe password I typed doesn't work.

Passwords (password: A sequence of characters needed to access computer systems, files, and Internet services. Strong passwords combine uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.) are case-sensitive. Check to see whether the CAPS LOCK key is turned off, retype the password to make sure that you didn't mistype it, or make sure that you have the correct presentation open for the password you typed.

Receiving macro warnings

ShowBuilt-in wizards, templates, or custom commands no longer work, or I get a message that macros are disabled.

ShowI am concerned that a presentation I want to open contains infected macros, but I don't see a warning when I open the presentation.

If you set the security level to Low, you are not protected from unsafe macros, so this setting is not recommended. By setting the security level to Medium, with the Trust all installed add-ins and templates check box cleared, users can choose to enable or disable unsigned COM add-ins and VBA macros when they are prompted. If your security level is set to Very High or High, with the Trust all installed add-ins and templates check box cleared, all unsigned COM add-ins and VBA macros are disabled automatically. Therefore, it is recommended that users keep security levels set to High with the Trust all installed add-ins and templates check box cleared.

The following table lists the available Microsoft Office 2003 security settings, along with their corresponding behaviors, in the Security dialog box (Macros submenu, Tools menu).

Security levelDigitally signed?From trusted sources?Office 2003 will

Very High

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

N/A

Load the add-in or macro silently

Not load the add-in or macro

Not load the add-in or macro

High

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

N/A

Load the add-in or macro silently

Prompt to trust the source and enable the add-in or macro to run

Not load the add-in or macro

Medium

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

N/A

Load the add-in or macro silently

Prompt to trust the source and enable the add-in or macro to run

Prompt to enable or disable the add-in or macro

Low

Yes or No

Yes or No

Load the add-in or macro silently

ShowI keep getting a warning about macros.

ShowI don't want to be warned about any macros.

To stop displaying macro (macro: An action or a set of actions that you can use to automate tasks. Macros are recorded in the Visual Basic for Applications programming language.) warnings, change the security level for your presentation to Low on the Security Level tab (Tools menu, Macro command, Security submenu). To avoid a macro virus (virus: A computer program or macro that "infects" computer files by inserting copies of itself into those files. When the infected file is loaded into memory, the virus can infect other files. Viruses often have harmful side effects.) infection on your computer, change the security level to Low only if you are running specialized antivirus software that can check presentations and add-ins (add-in: A supplemental program that adds custom commands or custom features to Microsoft Office.) for macro viruses, and you are sure all the macros you use are from trusted sources.

ShowThe Security Warning dialog box tells me the source has not been authenticated.

This warning appears in the Security Warning dialog box if the security level is set to High or Medium on the Security Level tab (Tools menu, Macro command, Security submenu), and you open a presentation or load an add-in (add-in: A supplemental program that adds custom commands or custom features to Microsoft Office.) that contains digitally signed (digital signature: An electronic, encryption-based, secure stamp of authentication on a macro or document. This signature confirms that the macro or document originated from the signer and has not been altered.) macros (macro: An action or a set of actions that you can use to automate tasks. Macros are recorded in the Visual Basic for Applications programming language.) but the digital certificate (digital certificate: Attachment for a file, macro project, or e-mail message that vouches for authenticity, provides secure encryption, or supplies a verifiable signature. To digitally sign macro projects, you must install a digital certificate.) has not been authenticated. For example, if the macro developer has created his or her own digital certificate, you receive this warning.

This type of unauthenticated certificate can be forged by malicious users to claim that it is anyone's certificate. For example, a malicious user can create a certificate named "Microsoft Corporation." The only warning you have that the certificate is false is this warning. You should not expect professional software developers to sign with an unauthenticated certificate. You should expect this type of certificate only from individual co-workers or friends. If the security level is set to High and you trust the macro source, you can select the Always trust macros from this source check box when prompted and enable the macros. If the security level is set to Medium, you can enable the macros without adding the developer to the list of trusted sources. If you don't trust the developer, do not enable the macros.

Working with macros

ShowI can't use a macro in a presentation or add-in I opened.

Changing the security level

ShowI can't change the security level.

Your network administrator might have enforced a security level for your workgroup or corporation to ensure you use only macros (macro: An action or a set of actions that you can use to automate tasks. Macros are recorded in the Visual Basic for Applications programming language.) that have been determined to be virus-free. For more information, see your network administrator.

Adding a macro developer to the list of trusted sources

ShowI can't add a macro developer to the list of trusted sources.

ShowThe source of the certificate I chose to trust was not added to the list of trusted sources.

If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later, the Certificate Properties dialog box appears when you click the Details button in the Security Warning dialog box. The Trust tab in the Certificate Properties dialog box provides an option to trust the digital certificate (digital certificate: Attachment for a file, macro project, or e-mail message that vouches for authenticity, provides secure encryption, or supplies a verifiable signature. To digitally sign macro projects, you must install a digital certificate.), but Microsoft Office 2003 programs will ignore any options you set on the Trust tab. Use the Trusted Sources tab in the Security dialog box (Tools menu, Macro command, Security submenu) to add a macro (macro: An action or a set of actions that you can use to automate tasks. Macros are recorded in the Visual Basic for Applications programming language.) developer to the list of trusted sources.

ShowI signed my macros with a digital certificate that I created myself, but other people are unable to use them, and they can't add me to their list of trusted sources.

Digital certificates (digital certificate: Attachment for a file, macro project, or e-mail message that vouches for authenticity, provides secure encryption, or supplies a verifiable signature. To digitally sign macro projects, you must install a digital certificate.) created with the Selfcert.exe tool are considered unauthenticated (authenticate: The process of verifying that people and products are who and what they claim to be. For example, confirming the source and integrity of a software publisher's code by verifying the digital signature used to sign the code.). Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 will allow you to add the owner of an unauthenticated certificate to the list of trusted sources only when the certificate is used on the same computer on which it was initially created. This means you can run Selfcert.exe and create a certificate on your computer, sign your own personal macros (macro: An action or a set of actions that you can use to automate tasks. Macros are recorded in the Visual Basic for Applications programming language.), and you can trust that certificate on that same computer. However, if you attempt to share the presentation with another user, the other user will be unable to run the macros if the user's security setting is set to High on the Security Level tab (Tools menu, Macro command, Security submenu).

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