Microsoft Security Advisory (929433) - Microsoft Word

Microsoft has issued Security Advisory of a new vulnerability in Word 2000 to 2004, Mac verionsm and even Microsoft Works.

Microsoft is investigating a new report of limited “zero-day” attacks using a vulnerability in Microsoft Word 2000, Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft Office Word 2003, Microsoft Word Viewer 2003, Microsoft Word 2004 for Mac, and Microsoft Word 2004 v. X for Mac, as well as Microsoft Works 2004, 2005, and 2006.

In order for this attack to be carried out, a user must first open a malicious Word file attached to an e-mail or otherwise provided to them by an attacker.

Until Microsoft figures out a way around this, there’s little you can do, except to refrain from opening Word files.

For details, surf over to http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/929433.mspx

For the moment, you might want to send and receive files to and from the outside (at least) as PDF files.
Not as convenient as sending an editable file, certainly, but perhaps safer.  And there is software for converting PDF files back to Word.  Or try WordPerfect files, for awhile.  They should be safe, at least.