How to use Office programs with the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in

The Norton AntiVirus plug-in for Microsoft Office scans documents for macro virus infections in Office products. This plug-in may cause performance issues, the inability to open files within Office, or the inability to install some Office programs.

For more information about potential problems that may occur when you use the Norton AntiVirus plug-in, including error messages that you may receive, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: This article contains the latest information about how to use Office with the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in.

To work around the issues that are listed in the “Summary” section, use either of the following methods.

Method 1: Run Live Update

Obtain the latest version of the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in that is available through the Live Update option site in your Norton AntiVirus software.

Note An update to the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in may not be available in all languages.

Method 2: Disable Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in

Perform this method only if you cannot update your Norton AntiVirus software through the Live Update Web site.
Important These steps may increase your security risk. These steps may also make the computer or the network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We recommend the process that this article describes to enable programs to operate as they are designed to or to implement specific program capabilities. Before you make these changes, we recommend that you evaluate the risks that are associated with implementing this process in your particular environment. If you decide to implement this process, take any appropriate additional steps to help protect the system. We recommend that you use this process only if you really require this process.Note An antivirus program is designed to protect your computer from viruses. You must not download or open files from sources that you do not trust, visit Web sites that you do not trust, or open e-mail attachments when your antivirus program is disabled. For more information about computer viruses, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: When the Norton AntiVirus plug-in is disabled, the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in does not scan documents when you open the documents. Even if the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in is disabled, the Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect feature still provides ongoing protection by scanning any file that you run, download, open, create, or delete.

To disable the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in, use one of the following methods, depending on the version of Norton AntiVirus that is installed on your computer.
Note Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

Norton AntiVirus 2009 is installed

Disable the Turn on scanning for Microsoft Office Documents option. To do this, follow these steps. Warning This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

1. On the taskbar, right-click the Norton icon, and then click Settings.
2. Under Computer Scans, click on the icon next to Microsoft Office Automaic Scan to toggle the setting between the On setting and the Off setting.
3. Click OK.

If Norton is not available on the taskbar, follow these steps:

1. On the Start Menu, Click on the Start Menu button, and then select All Programs.
2. Select Norton Antivirus.
3. Select Norton AntiVirus from the listing of Norton AntiVirus shortcuts.
4. click Settings.
5. Under Computer Scans, click on the icon next to Microsoft Office Automaic Scan to toggle the setting between the On setting and the Off setting.
6. Click OK.

Norton AntiVirus 2007 or Norton Internet Security 2007 is installed

Disable the Turn on scanning for Microsoft Office Documents option. To do this, follow these steps. Warning This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

1. On the taskbar, right-click the Norton icon, and then click Norton Protection Center.
2. Depending on which version of Norton you are using, click Norton Antivirus or Norton Internet Security.
3. Click Settings.
4. Under Additional Options, click Virus and Spyware Protection Options.
5. Click Miscellaneous.
6. Under How to keep Microsoft Office documents protected, click to clear the Turn on scanning for Microsoft Office Documents check box.

Norton AntiVirus 2006 is installed

Disable the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in. To do this, follow these steps. Warning This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

1. On the taskbar, right-click the Norton icon, and then click Norton AntiVirus Options.
2. Click Miscellaneous.
3. Click to clear the Turn Office Plug-in on check box.

Norton AntiVirus 2004, Norton SystemWorks 2004, Norton AntiVirus 2003, Norton SystemWorks 2003, Norton AntiVirus 2002 or Norton SystemWorks 2002 is installed

Disable the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in. To do this, follow these steps. Norton AntiVirus 2002 is used as an example. Warning This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

1. Start Norton AntiVirus. To do this, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Norton AntiVirus, and then click Norton AntiVirus 2002.
   
   Note If you installed Norton AntiVirus as part of the Norton SystemWorks 2002 program, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Norton SystemWorks, point to Norton AntiVirus, and then click Norton AntiVirus 2002.
2. Click Options.
   
   Note In Norton SystemWorks 2002, click Options, and then click Norton Antivirus.
3. Under Other, click Miscellaneous.
4. Under How to keep Microsoft Office documents protected, click to clear the Enable Office Plug-in check box, and then click OK.
5. Restart the computer.

Norton AntiVirus 2001 or Norton SystemWorks 2001 is installed

Disable the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in. To do this, follow these steps: Warning This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

1. Start Norton AntiVirus. To do this, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Norton AntiVirus, and then click Norton AntiVirus 2001.
   
   Note If you installed Norton AntiVirus as part of the Norton SystemWorks 2002 program, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Norton SystemWorks, point to Norton AntiVirus, and then click Norton AntiVirus 2002.
2. Click Options, and then click General.
3. Under How to keep Microsoft Office documents protected, click to clear the Enable Office Plug-in check box, and then click OK.
4. Restart the computer.

Norton AntiVirus 2000, Norton SystemWorks 2000, or Norton Internet Security is installed

Unregister the Norton AntiVirus OfficeAV.dll file. To do this, follow these steps: Warning This workaround may make a computer or a network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

1. Exit all programs.
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. Depending on how Norton AntiVirus 2000 is installed, type one of the following commands:
   • If the Norton AntiVirus program is installed as a stand-alone product, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
     regsvr32 /u "c:\program files\norton antivirus\officeav.dll"
     c is a placeholder for the drive where Norton AntiVirus is installed.
     
     If the command is successful, you receive the following message:
     DllUnregisterServer in C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\OfficeAV.dll succeeded.
   • If the Norton AntiVirus program is installed as part of SystemWorks, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
     regsvr32 /u "c:\program files\norton systemworks\norton antivirus\officeav.dll"
     c is a placeholder for the drive where SystemWorks is installed.
     
     If the command is successful, you receive the following message:
     DllUnregisterServer in C:\Program Files\Norton Systemworks\Norton AntiVirus\OfficeAV.dll succeeded.
   • If Norton Internet Security is installed, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
     regsvr32 /u "c:\program files\norton internet security\norton antivirus\officeav.dll"
     c is a placeholder for the drive where Norton Internet Security is installed.
     
     If the command is successful, you receive the following message:
     DllUnregisterServer in C:\Program Files\Norton Internet Security\Norton AntiVirus\OfficeAV.dll succeeded.
4. Click OK.
5. Restart the computer.

For a list of additional Microsoft Knowledge Base articles that describe known issues with Microsoft Office and the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in, click the following Microsoft link: Click here to view a list of articles

For more information about how to disable or to enable the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in, visit the following Symantec Web site: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.
In the Search text box, type 1999091612160606, and then you can visit the following page: For more information about your Norton AntiVirus or Norton SystemWorks software, see your product documentation. The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.