About the AccessIV Virus

Microsoft has learned of a destructive macro virus, called "AccessIV", which can affect databases created in Access 2.0, Access 95, and Access 97. Some other variants of the virus also have been identified. To date, this virus has only appeared on private Web sites, and Microsoft Technical Support has not received any reports of this virus from customers. A macro virus uses an application's own macro programming language to distribute itself, and, unlike other viruses, a macro virus infects documents or databases rather than applications. The AccessIV virus is not designed to destroy files, but it will attempt to corrupt information in an Access database.

If you're using Access 2.0, Access 95, or Access 97, you can use the built-in security features to help prevent viruses from infecting your databases. Although the security utility will not remove the AccessIV virus, you can use it to control who has rights to modify your database, thus preventing unknown sources from potentially infecting your files. You can implement security by either establishing user/group accounts or creating password protection. For more information, look up "security" in Access Help, or see Using Access security to help protect against viruses, later in this article.

Resources to Protect Your Databases

From Third Parties

Microsoft is working very closely with third party anti-virus vendors to help them create tools that protect against macro viruses in Access. There are already tools developed by anti-virus vendors to clean and detect the virus. For additional information on macro viruses or anti-virus software, International Computer Security Association . Microsoft recommends using anti-virus software that is certified by this association.

Virus Prevention Tips

Microsoft strongly recommends customers keep their anti-virus protection software up-to-date. Customers should also practice safe computing by not sharing their databases with unknown sources and by not downloading unfamiliar Access databases from the Internet.

Long Term Solutions

Upcoming versions of Access will include technology that helps prevent macros from running and infecting your databases.

Using Access security to help protect against viruses

You can prevent viruses from infecting your Access databases by using Access security. There are two options for database security: database password or user-level security.

Database Password Security

To give your database a password:

1. Open the database exclusively.
2. On the Tools menu, click Security, and then click Set Database Password.
3. Type and verify your password.

All users must supply the password to open the database.

If a virus attempts to infect a password-protected database, you will see a password prompt. Click Cancel to prevent the database from opening, and the virus will not infect the database.

User-Level Security

User-level security allows you to grant different sets of permissions to different groups of users.

To secure a database:

1. Create and join a secure workgroup file by using the Workgroup Administrator feature.
2. Create a new user and add that user to the Administrators group.
3. Remove the Administrator user from the Administrators group.
4. Give the Administrator user a password to force a logon prompt.
5. Restart Access and log on as the new user.
6. Run the User-Level Security Wizard (this will create a new database and copy all objects to the new database).

You now have a secured database. You can use the security dialog boxes to add additional users and groups and assign permissions. To be completely secure, the Users group must not have any permissions.

If you download a database from the Web or suspect a database might be infected, open that database by using the default (unsecured) workgroup file. If your databases are secured, the infected database will not have sufficient permissions to infect your secured databases.

Additional Information

To learn more about virus protection, read Protect Your Microsoft Office Data from Viruses, on Office Online.

For technical support questions, contact Microsoft Product Support Services at (425) 635-7070 in the United States or contact your local Microsoft subsidiary for locations outside the United States.