Are your Microsoft Office files refusing to open? This could be why
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is likely to blame
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A new version ofMicrosoft’sendpoint securityplatform is preventing users from opening someOfficefiles and launching various applications, Microsoft has confirmed.
The company says Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (version 1.353.1874.0) is triggering false positive security alerts relating to Emotetmalware, blocking certain files from launching.
As reported byBleeping Computer,multiple admins have found theantivirusservice is detectingprintjobs as Emotet malware, as well as any Office app using MSIP.ExecutionHost.exe and slpwow64.exe.
“We are working to resolve an issue where some customers may have experienced a series of false-positive detections. This issue has been resolved for cloud-connected customers,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.
The return of Emotet
Although Microsoft has delivered a partial fix, there has been no word on the source of the problem.Bleeping Computerspeculates that Microsoft tried to increase the sensitivity of its filters for detecting Emotet and similar activity, due to the malware’s recent resurgence.
Emotet, which is believed to have originated in Ukraine, was almost extinct at the start of the year, after law enforcement seized control of Emotet infrastructure and reportedly arrested individuals linked with the operation.
However, since mid-November, new Emotet samples have started popping up once again. These are quite similar to the previous strain, but have a different encryption scheme, and are being delivered to machines infected by TrickBot.
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ViaBleeping Computer
Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.
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