As part of the ongoing effort to protect our email, an additional set of email security enhancements will be enabled for all Microsoft 365 users on Thursday, March 7, 2024. These features are a combination of tools designed to protect your account from phishing, spam, and malware attacks. ITS and HCIS staff have been testing these features for several months.
First contact safety tip - When you receive an email from a new sender or someone you don’t usually hear from, you might see a safety tip. It’s like a friendly reminder to be cautious. Don’t worry if it pops up even for familiar senders - it takes a little time for the system to learn. You can also add trusted senders to your Safe Senders list to prevent these tips from appearing. See sample -
- Impersonation safety tips If an email looks suspicious and seems to impersonate someone you know, you’ll get a warning. For example, it might say, “This sender seems similar to someone who previously emailed you, but might not be the same person.”
- User impersonation protection - This feature prevents specific internal or external email addresses from being impersonated as senders. It’s like a shield against fake emails.
- Domain impersonation safety tip - If the email’s “From” address matches a domain protected by our security measures, you’ll see a tip. For instance, it might say, “This sender might be pretending to be from a domain associated with your organization.”
- Unusual characters safety tip - If the sender’s address contains weird characters (like math symbols or a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters), you’ll be alerted. It’s another way to catch suspicious emails.
- Question mark (?) for unauthenticated senders for spoof - If an email fails certain security checks, you’ll notice a question mark next to the sender’s photo in the “From” box. This helps you spot potential spoofed emails.
- Show “Via” Tag for Different Domains - If the domain in the “From” address doesn’t match the domain in the DKIM signature or Mail From Address, you’ll see a “via” tag. It’s like a signpost indicating that the email might have taken a detour.
- Safe Links -
- What it does: Safe Links proactively shields you from harmful URLs in emails or Office documents.
- How it works: When you click a link, it first checks the URL. If it’s safe, you’ll be taken to the website. If it’s malicious, you’ll see a warning instead.
- Remember: Even familiar senders’ links are checked, and it might take a moment for the system to learn.
NOTE: If you hover over a link, you will see a similar link to this -
- What it does: Safe Links proactively shields you from harmful URLs in emails or Office documents.
- Safe Attachments -
Purpose: Guards against unknown malware and viruses.
- Process: Suspicious messages and attachments go to a secure environment. Defender for Office 365 analyzes them using machine learning. If all’s well, the message reaches your mailbox.
- Safe Attachments performance can vary depending on cloud resource availability. On higher utilization days, that process may take longer than usual. If opening the attachment is an issue, consider sharing the file via OneDrive.