Office 365, Outlook.com And OneDrive Gain New Weapons To Fight Malicious Attacks And Ransomware

Microsoft has announced that Office 365 has gained some new security features that are meant to help protect users from online threats. These new features will go along with the security features already integrated with Office 365, like link checking and attachment scanning for viruses and phishing threats. Office 365 also already encrypts information in transit and at rest. The advanced Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal protection capabilities include the following:

• File recovery from malicious attacks like ransomware.
• Tools to help keep your information secure and private.
• Advanced protection from viruses and cybercrime.

The tool for recovering files from malicious attacks like ransomware is File Restore, this feature is already available in OneDrive for Business and it is now coming to the personal OneDrive accounts. That feature will allow the restoration of the entire OneDrive to a previous point in time within the last 30 days. That feature works for recovering from an accidental delete, corrupt file, ransomware, or other catastrophic event.

Office 365 also has the ability to detect ransomware attacks and help restore the OneDrive to a point before those files were compromised. That will prevent you from having to submit to criminals, says Microsoft. If an attack is detected, you will get an alert via email, mobile, or a desktop notification. That notification will guide you through the recovery process using File Restore.

New tools for protecting your information and keeping it private have also been added. That new protection includes the ability to set and require passwords to access a shared file or folder. That feature is meant to prevent others from accessing files if someone you sent the file link to accidentally shares it or shares without your permission.

Email encryption adds an additional layer of protection via Outlook.com. Microsoft warns that some email providers don’t encrypt their connection, possibly allowing people to intercept and read communications. Encrypted email can be read and replied to just as any other email with the Outlook for iOS or Android app and the Windows Mail App. It’s not clear what extra steps, if any, will be needed to read encrypted emails with other mail providers.

Outlook.com allows you to now block recipients from forwarding or copying your emails sent via Outlook.com. If someone forwards an email you send with an attachment, the attachment wouldn’t open, for example. Advanced link checking also launches in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint later this year. Links in those apps will automatically be checked in real-time to be sure there is no malware at the destination.

If the link is suspicious, you are redirected to a warning screen. Microsoft says these new features are rolling out now to Office 365 users and will be available to all subscribers soon. The advanced link checking and attachment scanning is up in Outlook right now. Advanced link checking in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will land in the second half of 2018.