AntiVirus Wrong? VBA, Outlook...

[tampabay420]

Hey all,

I currently code VBA applications in Excel for my company. One of the spreadsheets uses outlook to send it self from user to user (following a corporate chain of command). The Outlook server is flagging my spreadsheet as a Worm, and won’t let it pass (only sometimes)- so I’m trying to figure out what exactly is triggering the AntiVirus software? Why only some of the documents are flagged and others are allowed to pass through? Any ideas/answers/suggestions would be extremely helpful!

-take it easy 

[Tiger Shark]

Tampa: That's a pretty big question 'cos an awful lot will depend upon what your scripts do and how they are written. You may be mimicing a signature for a start. If that is the case have the system ID the virus it thinks it is and then go and see what might be similar in your coding.

I'd also look to see if the AV system is set to alert on macros/VB in office docs. If it is then you would need to turn that off. The downside is that by turning it off you lose all the protection you were getting. OTOH, I see very few macro type viruses any more so that may not be quite such a big deal. Be careful though that you do not piss off the security admin by having the big wigs tell him that he has to do that because what you are writing for them is more valuable and attractive in their eyes than the additional security provided by the macro detection..... Gotta love politics....<s>

Also.... and it will take longer - you say it goes through sometimes..... Play trial and error to see what it is that triggers and what doesn't. I say that because if it goes through sometimes but not others that implies that it is a combination of the code and the data that is triggering a signature. Mess with the data till you can see a pattern of blocking then alter the spreadshhet so that the pattern is not made in the future..... But that could be a ton of work and I don't know if you are on a deadline.

have fun......