New Security Features Have Been Added To Microsoft Office 365

According to the today’s announcement by Microsoft, new security features for MS Office 365 Home and Office 365 Personal Users have been rolled out. These newly added cybersecurity features include ransomware protection which will enable the users to recover lost files.

Microsoft has announced that the OneDrive Cloud storage users will be offered a “File Restore” feature. By using this feature, individual users can restore their complete OneDrive storage to an earlier point of time within the preceding 30 days. Formerly, this feature was available to OneDrive for Business users, but now it shall be expanded to cater to OneDrive personal users as well. According to the Microsoft’s corporate vice president, Kirk Koenigsbauer, this feature can be used to recover files in the event of mass deletion, file corruption, or malicious attacks like ransomware.

For an added, beefed up security, the recovery features are supported with ransomware detection. The moment a ransomware is detected on these platforms, the user shall be alerted through various modes including email, desktop, and mobile notification. They will then be offered guidance so that they can perform a recovery of their data to the duration before the compromise. Therefore, the recovery process will be easy and user-friendly.

Apart from these measures, Microsoft is rolling out password protection even for shared folders and files stored on OneDrive. This added layer will ensure that even if the link to the data is shared with a third-party, it can only be accessed by authorized personnel only. All communications taking place over Outlook shall be protected through end-to-end encryption. Thus, users can be assured that their communications cannot be intercepted irrespective of the platform or mail services the recipient uses. Furthermore, the recipient shall be directed to safe MS Office 365 pages for authentication purposes before accessing the mail. However, those availing the Outlook services can directly read and reply to the emails.

Outlook users can encrypt their sensitive data and if they forget to do so Outlook will make the suggestion if it detects any classified information present in the mails. Users can impose restrictions on recipients from copying the email contents or forwarding the emails. Not just that, even the documents that are sent as attachments are encrypted so the content cannot be misused or sent to a third party. In the event that the attachments do reach the third party, the documents will not be available for viewing.

Soon enough, the software giant intends to monitor and scan the Microsoft Office 365 documents sent as attachments. This functionality will aid in the detection of malicious links present in the documents. The firm hopes that through this real-time protection, they shall be capable of protecting the user from phishing scams, spyware, and any suspicious links that get forwarded through attachments. Users who accidentally stumble upon such harmful links will be redirected to an intermediary warning page that will send the user an alert recommending them to not proceed to the site.

For more information, visit: Office.com/Setup | Office.com/MyAccount | Office Setup 2016