Would you like the folks at Microsoft to see your company's confidential budget documents? If you use Windows XP or Office XP, they might. Here's how: If any Office XP application or any program running on Windows XP crashes, a dialog box pops up asking permission to send a bug report to Microsoft. If you approve and click Send Error Report, the transmission may tack on parts of the file or Web site you were viewing. Microsoft does tell you what kind of data it might gather--but you must click another link on the dialog box to find out more.

To prevent your private files from visiting Redmond, you can do one of two things: Click Don't Send each time the dialog box appears, or disable the entire thing by editing the Windows Registry. Browse to Microsoft's instructions.

Two other, unrelated Microsoft security problems have surfaced. One of them affects Excel and PowerPoint; the other crops up in Internet Explorer. So far, nobody has reported a hack attack, but you should download the patches to be on the safe side.

The more important hole appeared recently in Excel 2000/2002 and PowerPoint 2000/2002. Discovered by Peter Ferrie of Symantec Security Response, the bug exploits Excel's and PowerPoint's ability to run macros. By crafting a file with specially malformed macros, a hacker could do anything on your computer that you could do. All the villain would need you to do is open that file.

The misbegotten file could come as an attachment in an e-mail, or it could lurk behind a link on a Web site. Go to Microsoft for separate patches for Excel and PowerPoint.

A new IE hole could enable someone to trick the browser into loosening its security settings, which would leave you open to possible attacks. By exploiting a quirk of IE 5.01 and 5.5, a hacker could create a URL or a link that confuses the browser into behaving as though it weren't on the Internet but on an intranet instead.

IE has a separate collection of security settings for intranets, and many corporations and individuals adopt relatively lax security settings for intranet surfing. Your browser may be in a mode for surfing safely around your home network when really you're out cruising the Web with your guard downa--it's sort of like sleepwalking while crossing a busy street. Theoretically, if your shields are down, someone could take full control of your PC uninvited. Visit Microsoft to obtain their fix.

Bugged?

Found a hardware or software bug? Tell us about it via e-mail at bugs@pcworld.com.

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