Advice Request Is it okay to use MS Office 2007 in 2020?

[Evjl's Rain]

yes, perfectly fine.
However, you need to block the inbound connections of office apps using windows firewall and use syshardener, or similar apps, to block all vulnerable elements of office (scripts, macros, activeX, OLE,...)

more aggressively, you can block both inbound and outbound connections with firewall + with 1 option in settings

 

[Andy Ful]

Even if you will use all methods from this thread to harden Word 2007 (Word tweaks, firewall rules, etc.), then it would be still insufficient. They do not prevent in-memory exploits. For example, the known vulnerability related to the equation editor was patched by Microsoft only if you installed the Service Pack 3 for the 2007 Microsoft Office Suite. Some other exploits can be not patched, because Word 2007 is officially not supported by Microsoft. Any Word exploit opens the possibility of using fileless methods, so you have to harden the system against scripts and popular LOLBins. This can be done by properly configuring Anti-exe, SRP, etc. This way is appropriate only for users who have to use MS Word.

My conclusion remains the same, you will spend more time thinking about securing MS Word 2007, than adapting to something else (simpler and safer).

 

[Brahman]

Well i have switched to LibreOffice 6, I am great full to all who has advised me on this aspect, especially to Andy Ful,Evjl's Rain, Gandalf_The_Grey and last but not least The Cog in the Machine .

 

[ng4ever]

I really need to get my Mom off of Office 2007. Hopefully I can sooner or later.

Sadly I don't think I ever will

 

[ng4ever]

Which version of LibreOffice did you go with ? What version should I let my Mom try ? Just wondering.

 

[Brahman]

Which version of LibreOffice did you go with ? What version should I let my Mom try ? Just wondering.

Try the newest version...7.1.3.

 

[ng4ever]

Try the newest version...7.1.3.

Thank sorry it said use newest for power users and older version for more reliable use.

 

[Brahman]

Thank sorry it said use newest for power users and older version for more reliable use.

There is no reliability issue with libre office. If you are switching why not use the newest. There's not much difference with new and old in layouts.

 

[ng4ever]

There is no reliability issue with libre office. If you are switching why not use the newest. There's not much difference with new and old in layouts.

Good point!