How come every time I open Microsoft Word, a Norton Internet Security window pops up?

It says, “The virus definitions required by Norton Internet Security are not valid …”

I don’t understand how virus protection and Word are at all related.

3 replies
  1. hjbreese says:

    By default Norton will scan a Word document to see if there are any embedded viruses or malware. Usually you don’t know this has happened.

    The file on your system called normal.dot is the template for a new document. If this document has been infected, it could be calling a bogus virus alert. If this is the case, you need to replace the normal.dot file on your computer. Make a backup copy of the file after re-installing it, so you can easily replace it later if you have to do it again. You can put a new copy on your system by running the repair option on the CD you installed Word with. It examines all Word related files to see if they have been modified since installation, and then replaces them if they have changed.

    It could also be that your AV definition file is either corrupt or missing. If you haven’t updated your definition file in a while, you might try doing so and then launching Word to see if the problem persists.

    Hope this helps!

  2. The Phlebob says:

    Word calls Norton Anti-Virus for each file it opens. This is to catch macro viruses — among the oldest types on PCs.

    Update your anti-virus definitions. If Norton reports them as up-to-date or they don’t seem to be updateable, you may have malware that has blocked Norton.

    Good luck.

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