Word is slow to open and shows "Requesting virus scan"
When you open a Word document, Microsoft Word shows a message saying "Requesting Virus Scan..." and it may take a long time (30+ seconds) to open the word document.
The virus scan message is not from Microsoft Word but from your associated anti-virus software. It has installed a Office plug-in! This default checking of Word (and other Office) documents canbe disabled in the Anti-Virus software by turning off its Office Plug-in. This results in Office documents opening faster (particularly on older - slower computer systems)!
Solutions: With most versions of the Norton or AVG anti-virus product it can be helpful to un-register the calling 'office plug-in' DLL by running one of the following command line entries from the Windows >Start >Run dialog entry box (see below):
Norton's (Symantec) antivirus software needs this RUN command line entry:
regsvr32 /u "c:\program files\norton antivirus\officeav.dll"Grisoft's AVG antivirus software needs this Run command line entry:
or
regsvr32 /u "c:\program files\norton systemworks\norton antivirus\officeav.dll"
regsvr32 /u "c:\program files\grisoft\avg free\avgoff2k.dll"
Note - Windows 98: The only way I have found to stop the AVG Office anti-virus 'plug-in' is to remove (delete) the file avgoff2k.dll. This will be found in the Program Files folder under "c:\program files\grisoft\avg free"
How to check if the Anti-Virus plug-in for MS Office is installed and active?
Run MS Word, choose Tools > Macro > Security... > Security Level tab, here you can see if any program(s) for virus control is installed or not. It would normally show as "Virus Scanner(s)(s) Installed" - if the plug-in is enabled!
Note: Disabling the MS Office anti-virus 'plug-in' option is not stopping your anti-virus software from Virus checking the various files on your computer; it just stops the MS Office software from performing the check on a single file open request = Faster Operations!
See my other notes on dealing with common MS Word problems
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Microsoft Word is slow to open and shows - Requesting Virus Scan
