Quarantined Messages and Email Security

You may be getting emails from Microsoft about quarantined messages and wondering what’s going on. The short explanation is that Microsoft’s email filters are getting better and that the company is trying to protect you from harmful attachments and links that can compromise your tech system’s integrity.

We typically don’t know about a message we haven’t seen until the sender contacts us because we haven’t responded to them. In today’s age of more sophisticated phishing campaigns, deep fakes, and more malicious code, we rely on our email systems, such as Outlook and Gmail, to protect us from ourselves with stronger filters. Too many people are careless about opening attachments or clicking links that lead to scams. Even the most careful person can fall victim to clicking on something they shouldn’t. So, Microsoft makes you take an extra step or two in hopes you will slow down and give more thought to the action the sender wants you to take.

It used to be enough to check your spam or junk mail folder in Outlook, and it’s still important with the New Outlook. As filters get more robust, more messages get diverted there, but, as the commercials say, wait, there’s more. You are likely getting messages from Microsoft that they have quarantined messages based on their parameters for determining if a message may be part of a phishing campaign or has a malicious link or attachment.

If you have Office 365, you won’t be able to access the quarantined message in your inbox. Instead, you’ll get a message with the following information for each quarantined message:

  • Sender: The email address of the sender of the quarantined message.
  • Subject: The Subject line of the quarantined message.
  • Date: The date/time that the message was quarantined in UTC.

You’ll also get a link. If you don’t understand what’s going on, you probably feel safer just deleting the message with the link. However, because the filters are more robust – based on an array of factors – you could miss a useful or important message.

Individuals and office administrators who use Office 365 as a web app can find their quarantined messages by clicking on this link: https://security.microsoft.com/quarantine?viewid=Email. It takes you to a Microsoft Defender page where you will see who each message was from and why it was quarantined. Messages are held there for 30 days. During that time, you can release a message, which will send it to your inbox, where you can open it and decide what you want to do. You can also delete a message directly from the quarantine page. We recommend you bookmark this link.

Of course, these security measures put an onus on senders, especially those who legitimately send bulk email, to ensure their DNS records are up to date and follow accepted anti-spam policies for outgoing mail.

We can help you by reviewing your incoming and outgoing email settings to maximize your security and email handling efficiency. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us to talk about it.

Better Attachment Options

Attached files are the bane of my existence, and they probably cause you a lot of problems, too. Microsoft’s New Outlook removes your option to drag an attachment to your desktop or a folder and forces you to choose a more specific action. It seems like a pain in the butt, but it could save your butt.

Hackers have long used attachments and links to bogus or dangerous websites to get into your system and compromise your data. Microsoft has added extra steps that seem really stupid at first. But they slow you down and force you to give your actions more forethought.

When you right-click on an attachment, you now see a dropdown menu of five actions you can take:

  • Preview
  • Edit in Browser
  • Edit in Word desktop app
  • Save to OneDrive
  • Download

Preview keeps the attachment in your inbox, but once you see what it is, you can choose any of the options in the dropdown menu directly from the preview.

One of those, Edit in Browser, lets you immediately work on a file as part of a collaborative team, a feature that’s becoming more common in offices because it’s much more efficient than editing a file, saving it with a version designation and resending it to everyone as another email attachment. How many times have you seen four collaborators open, edit, and resend the same version at different times? One of the team members invariably is left to sort through all the copies of the file and put all the changes into a new master document. And equally invariably, an edit is missed, misplaced, or misspelled.

Similarly, saving an attachment in OneDrive allows collaborators to edit it or view the changes without having to go through the process of resending and opening new attachments. With both OneDrive and a file edited in a browser, you only need to send a link. Anyone who opens the file by clicking the link will see the latest version. This is the same process used for Google Docs.

But if it’s better for you, the New Outlook allows you to download the file as you did before and save it to a folder – either on your computer or on your computer and OneDrive – if you have it.

New Outlook’s handling of attachments doesn’t mean it’s safe to open and edit a file no matter how you do it, especially when getting attachments or links to attachments from people you don’t know. As we’ve preached ad nauseam for years, you should closely examine a sender’s email address and other identifying factors. If something doesn’t look right, call the sender at a phone number you know is legitimate or look up a phone number by going to a new browser window and accessing a website independent of the email.

We can guide you through all the ins and outs of handling attachments through the New Outlook based on your personal or organizational needs. Call us – 973—433-6676 – or email us for an appointment.

 

 

The New Outlook for 2024

Windows Mail is going away. Let us all say “hallelujah” and give thanks. And let us all start moving to the New Outlook, which is web-based and adds speed, more functionality and additional security features to the old Classic Outlook.

Beginning in 2024, new Windows 11 devices will be shipped with the new Outlook for Windows as the default mailbox application, free for all to use. The Mail and Calendar applications will remain available via download in the Microsoft Store through the end of 2024. Users can switch to the new Outlook for Windows from a toggle in the Mail and Calendar applications on existing devices. If you still want to use Classic Outlook, simply toggle it back. New Windows is part of Microsoft 365 and takes advantage of OneDrive and SharePoint.

While many of us are reluctant to leave our comfort zones, where the old Outlook or Outlook Email might reside, there are several reasons why you should make the switch.

The new Outlook will have a much longer shelf life than the old version. That’s because it’s part of the transition from desktop- or computer-based to web-based apps. Once you get used to it as an individual user or have your employees trained, everyone can settle into a more productive routine.

You’ll first notice how quickly it loads and updates email messages. We found it faster than the classic Outlook, and it streamlines how you can handle email messages and coordinate email and your calendar. You can pin emails to the top of your inbox so they are easy to find later, snooze emails to temporarily hide them, and then have them reappear when you’re ready to respond and get reminders to follow up on important conversations. You can time the schedule for sending emails so they are delivered at the best time for the recipient or undo a sent email within 10 seconds, and you can use the sweep function to clean up your inbox quickly by setting advanced inbox rules for incoming mail. With My Day view, you can see your upcoming calendar events and tasks anywhere in Outlook. Package delivery and upcoming travel dates are also automatically added to your calendar from your email confirmations, and you can view the weather forecast in your calendar at any time.

Aesthetically, you have hundreds of customization options and several key functional options. You can save attachments to OneDrive while in Outlook and open them without leaving Outlook to open your Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.

For security, the New Outlook has beefed up its spam and malware filters, and those with a Microsoft 365 subscription can also access other security features, such as encryption.

Finally, the New Outlook has much more robust search capabilities, which we’ll explain in more detail next month.

In the meantime, we invite everyone to try the New Outlook. We believe you’ll find it a more productive tool once you learn its basics. We’re available if you have any questions about its new features. Just give us a call – 973-433-6676 – or email us if you have any questions.

Password Sharing

Yes, we should guard our passwords like gold bars in Fort Knox. But at the same time, it’s prudent for individuals to ensure trusted people have access to their accounts. We discussed it before, but it’s worth doing it again, especially when it can prevent more heartache with the death of a loved one or a catastrophic event.

Password problems crop up all the time for both commercial and individual clients. They can be annoying, especially when spouses or kids constantly forget passwords, sending you on a hunt. They can be disruptive, especially when an employee leaves and you need to change passwords for accounts they used for your business. They can be downright heart-rending, especially when you need to handle the affairs of family members or friends who have become incapacitated or have passed away.

That last group of problems takes on particular urgency because you’re out there alone. There’s nobody to help you know what to look for and where to find it – especially while you’re working in a highly emotional atmosphere.

All these problems are avoidable, with or without technological solutions.

Unfortunately, we learned about the non-tech side of it when our friend committed suicide. In his deep depression, he knew his family would be devastated. Yet he had the presence to leave detailed information about what his survivors would need to close his affairs and carry on with their lives. It probably made things easier, though nobody involved could know how much while dealing with their grief.

Because we depend on website access to manage just about every aspect of our personal and professional lives, a trusted person or small group of people must have complete information for all usernames and passwords. The info can be on a list that’s printed out or written in a notebook and stored in a safe place. Most of you probably have a fireproof storage box or a safe for important documents such as birth certificates or passports anyway. There’s nothing wrong with hard copies.

However, we can’t emphasize strongly enough that you can set up a password manager with a family-and-friends feature that solves just about all password and web-based account access problems. You only need to remember one strong master password to access all your websites. We like Dashlane for its reliability and ease of use, but it’s not the only one. And regardless of whether it’s for personal/family use or business, certain principles still apply.

Here’s what to look for:

  1. The ability to work across multiple devices and platforms. Everyone depends on being able to use computers, phones, tablets, and even smart watches seamlessly. Many people use Windows, Apple, and Android systems individually and in corporate networks. Your password manager must be able to work on all devices and platforms.
  2. Facial recognition. We believe this is the most efficient biometric for speed and security, especially when you’re on the go and using a mobile device. In some cases, you don’t even need your master password. That’s a great convenience.
  3. The ability to share passwords with a family-and-friends capability or a corporate plan. Whether it’s another annoying request from a family member or a critical request from a business associate who needs instant access, you can find the password they need and give it to them. It can also make it much easier to oversee the affairs of loved ones when necessary.

We look forward to the day when biometrics or some other technology will eliminate the need for passwords. When that day comes, all of our information will be more secure, and easier to access our websites and online accounts. Until that day comes, a password manager is your best bet to handle everyday online life and emergencies.

We can help you select the password manager that best meets your needs, and we can help you configure an individual plan or a multi-user plan. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us to discuss your needs or for configuration help.