Microsoft still plans to block Office macros by default after temporary rollback

Photo by Sam Byford / The Verge

By default, Microsoft will block VBA macros in Office applications. IT admins who had been preparing for Microsoft to prevent Office users from easily enabling macros in Office files downloaded from the internet were surprised by the change last week. The change was supposed to go live in June but Microsoft reversed the block on June 30th.

Kellie Eickmeyer, principal product manager at Microsoft, said that they rolled back the change temporarily after user feedback. We are committed to making the default change for everyone.

Microsoft had originally planned to force Office users to enable the macros by specificallyticking an unblock option in the properties of a file, but it has since changed its mind. It looks like Microsoft is listening to feedback and possibly making it easier to enable macros on trusted files.

Office users can enable it by hitting a button at the top of the files. Microsoft was going to block this feature and send Office users to a support website with instructions on how to enable macros on a per-files basis. Many users will be happy to know that Microsoft is still committed to blocking macros in Office despite the fact that they have been targeted by hackers for years.