Hyderabad Blues: [HM:258631] How to Repair a Virus Infected Excel File?

Microsoft Excel, a spreadsheet application, offers Calculation, Graphing tools, Pivot tables, Macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), etc. it has become an irreplaceable application for users. Individuals and enterprises widely use it for trading, accounting, scientific work, Sales & Marketing, etc. However, neither its Mac nor Windows version is resistant to virus infection. Viruses may anytime infect it, thus leading to corrupt or damaged Excel file. In such a situation, it becomes necessary to know how to repair a virus infected Excel file.

A Virus that Can Corrupt MS Excel File

Macro/VBA virus is a malware that comes in several forms such as PLDT, CAR, and SGV. It can infect any application written with a Macro language and MS Excel is one of them. Here in Excel, it takes advantage of Macros by attaching itself to the file and secretly takes over the Auto_Open function of Excel. It does exactly what its name recommends. The easiest way in which you can defend yourself against PLDT/CAR/SGV Macro viruses is by disabling Macros in the Excel files.

Ways to Repair Virus Infected Excel File

What if the Excel files have been infected with a virus? In such a situation, you need to repair and restore them successfully. Here are the top 5 ways to repair virus infected Excel files and restore them without making any changes to the data within.

Method 1: Repair method

If the MS Excel does not start the File recovery mode automatically, try to repair the virus infected Excel file manually with the Repair method. To do so, follow the steps mentioned below:

Click on the Microsoft Office button, and then on the Open.
In the Open dialog box, select the corrupt Excel file you wish to open.
Click the arrow next to the Open tab and then on the Open and Repair
Execute one of the following two:
- Click on the Repair tab. (Do so to recover as much data of Excel file as possible)
- Click on the Extract Data tab. (Do so to extract values and formulas from the Excel file when an attempt to repair the file is unsuccessful.)

Method 2: Open with Open Office

Open the corrupt or damaged Excel file in Open Office that is an open-source Office suite, capable of opening and saving Excel files.

Method 3: HTML method

Open the Excel file and save it in HTML format. By doing so, the damaged elements may get filtered. Thereafter, the filtered out elements can be discarded.

Method 4: SYLK Method

Open the Excel file and after that save it in SYLK format. By doing so, the damaged elements may get filtered. After that, discard the filtered elements to repair and restore the infected Excel XLS or XLSX file.

Method 5: Use A Third-Party Tool

Try using a third-party tool that can easily repair damaged or corrupt Excel files and restore every bit of information easily and quickly. For instance, you can use Stellar Phoenix Excel Repair. You can also search for similar tools having the capability to repair and restore damaged Excel files.

Conclusion

Now that you know the five ways to repair a virus infected Excel file, you can try any that befits your needs and requirements; however, it is recommended to use the Safe, Secure & Reliable Stellar Phoenix Excel Repair for satisfactory results.

Source: BeatExcel

Junaid Tahir
www.DailyTenMinutes.com