Default Blocking of ActiveX Controls Now Applies to Microsoft 365

The clamp tightens a bit more around ActiveX controls.

Already in effect for Office 2024, their default deactivation will broaden this month to Microsoft 365 applications. More precisely to Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Visio in their Windows versions.

At present, the default behavior corresponds to the option “Warn me before activating all controls with minimal restrictions.” It translates differently depending on whether a VBA project is present. It can result in a button appearing that lets the user enable the controls.

The new mode corresponds to “Disable all controls without notification.” With it, some controls may still appear as static images (no interactivity). To re-enable their execution, you must go through the Privacy Management Center – unless governed by GPO.

This change does not prevent the use of COM objects (of which ActiveX controls are one implementation). It is being rolled out on the current channel’s preview via a Features Update (2504; build 18730.20030).

Alongside ActiveX controls, Microsoft is also seeking to frame, for security reasons, the use of Office macros. Macros contained in files from the Internet are currently blocked by default on certain apps in the suite. To enable them, you must go to the document properties and check a box. However, this rule only comes into play at the end of the chain, after other settings have been checked.

À consulter en complément :

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