Microsoft Office macros have historically posed a significant threat as the preferred method of delivering malicious payloads, accounting for almost half of all deliveries. The reason is simple: Microsoft Office products are highly prevalent and macros are mostly either enabled or easily enabled through a single mouse click. With Microsoft’s decision to block macros by default, threat actors have adapted their delivery techniques towards macro alternatives (e.g., Emotet ). One of those alternatives are Microsoft shortcuts , which have, in comparison to zero days or other fancy exploits, generally not received the attention they (sh|c)hould . In what follows, I will first provide a brief introduction to why and how macros were blocked as well as how to bypass the protections that were put in place. I will then give an overview of LNK files, one common alternative to macros, show how they are used in the wild, and finally discuss various ways for detection. Microsoft's decision to...
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