In the mid-1990s, the emergence of Word macro viruses – capable of infecting both Windows PCs and Apple Macs via Word documents – it was common practice to recommend users avoid sharing .DOC files and use Rich Text Format (.RTF) files instead.
The reasoning was that Rich Text Format didn’t support the macro language that Microsoft had embedded inside .DOC files, and so it was a much safer way to share information in the office.
The latest batch of security bulletins issued by Microsoft, however, underline the importance of not thinking that any security advice should be written permanently in stone.
Microsoft has warned Windows and Mac users that they could be at risk from boobytrapped RTF files if they leave their copies of Microsoft…
Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.
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