Windows 10: Deprecating support for SmartScreen in Outlook and Exchange

Brink · Aug 31, 2016

What are we announcing?

On November 1, 2016, Microsoft will stop generating updates for the SmartScreen spam filters in Exchange Server 2016 and earlier (2013, 2010, 2007), Outlook 2016 for Windows and earlier (2013, 2010, 2007) and Outlook 2011 for Mac.

The SmartScreen spam filter will be removed from future versions of Exchange Server and Outlook for Windows. (SmartScreen is not available in any other version of Outlook).

This announcement does not affect the SmartScreen Filter online protection features built into Windows, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer browsers. While branded similarly, those features are technically distinct. These SmartScreen Filters to help people to stay protected from malicious websites and downloads.

What is SmartScreen? What does it provide customers today?

Within Outlook and Exchange, SmartScreen is a spam content filter. It evaluates each message and returns an overall message Spam Confidence Level (SCL). Items that are rated as spam are send to Outlook’s junk folder. Microsoft provides periodic updates to the filters, and administrators and users can download and install the updates to improve their junk email protection.

For more details, see articles describing how this was done for Exchange and Outlook.
In Windows, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer browsers, the SmartScreen Filter online protection feature helps consumers to stay protected from malicious websites and downloads. This feature is not affected and it is not subject of the today’s announcement.

Why is Microsoft deprecating support for SmartScreen in Outlook and Exchange?

SmartScreen spam filters in Outlook and Exchange have become obsolete and have been replaced by Exchange Online Protection (EOP), a more effective cloud-based email filtering service. EOP is built into to all Office 365 and Outlook.com accounts and available for purchase to protect Microsoft Exchange Server (on-premises).

This spam filtering technology was first released in 2003, which provided Outlook and Exchange a content filter able to identify spam campaigns and direct them in the junk folder. As spammers have evolved and increased the volume and sophistication of their attacks, this type of spam prevention is no longer a useful way to prevent spam.

For example, spammers now routinely randomize their campaigns and use reputation high jacking from legitimate sending domains to trick content filters. Spam attacks no longer take days and weeks, they often complete or significantly morph within minutes. To be effective, filters should be real-time, always tapping into the intelligence of email campaigns happening within recent minutes or hours.

Further, SmartScreen often conflicts with EOP (or other 3rd party cloud filtering solutions). This is especially painful when emails declared legitimate by upstream filters or administrator policies (e.g. IPAllowLists, ETRs) are actually junked by SmartScreen, because SmartScreen is unaware of the upstream settings.

Microsoft developed Exchange Online Protection to protect Office 365 and Outlook.com mailboxes and remove the need for SmartScreen. Most customers using Exchange Server (on-premises) have either added EOP or use a 3rd party filtering service or appliance to sanitize their mail flow.

What is Exchange Online Protection (EOP)?

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is a cloud-based email filtering service that helps protect end users and organizations against spam and malware, and includes features to safeguard organization from messaging-policy violations. EOP is backed by a modern spam filtering stack, where content filters have a lesser role and sending IP and domain reputation, authentication, campaign detection, and spammer hosting infrastructure reputation are now responsible for filtering.

For more details, review the EOP documentation on TechNet and this help article on Office 365 email anti-spam protection.

What will happen on November 1, 2016?

Microsoft will stop producing new spam definition updates to the SmartScreen filters in Exchange and Outlook. The existing SmartScreen filter and definitions will be left in place, and continue to provide some basic level of protection. The current definition will continue to junk some obvious spam emails, with an effectiveness that will degrade over time.

As stated above, most users are protected by superior spam filtering arrangements and should not experience any change in their email experience or see an increase in spam.

Again, this change does not affect the SmartScreen Filter online protection feature built into Windows, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer browsers.

Will the deprecation of SmartScreen have any impact on users using Outlook with Office 365 or Outlook.com?

No. Customers using Outlook with Office 365 (for work email) or Outlook.com (for personal email) already have the advanced spam and malware protection found in Exchange Online Protection built into those services. These customers need to take no action. Note: Some Office 365 customers may have replaced EOP with a 3rd party filtering solution. Those customers will also continue to be protected by those solutions and do not need to take any action.

Will the deprecation of SmartScreen have any impact on users using Outlook with Exchange Server (on-premises)?

Most likely not. Due to the reasons stated earlier, SmartScreen has stopped being a useful tool for combatting spam. The vast majority of customers using Exchange Server have either added Exchange Online Protection or use a 3rd party filtering service or appliance to sanitize their mail flow.

Customers using Exchange Server should ensure they have their spam protection solution properly configured before November 1, 2016. Customers not using a separate spam solution today can purchase Exchange Online Protection for $1/user/month.

Will the deprecation of SmartScreen have any impact on users using Outlook with Gmail, Yahoo or other online email solutions?

Customers using Gmail, Yahoo or other online email solutions will be protected by the spam and malware protection found in those services.

How does this deprecation impact Outlook’s Junk Email Options?

Outlook’s Junk Email Options are stay the same. Since the existing SmartScreen filter and definitions will be left in place, the Options tab will continue to control the SmartScreen protection level. As noted above, those definitions will continue to junk some obvious spam emails, with an effectiveness that will degrade over time.

The other tabs are user driven settings and not related to SmartScreen. They will be unaffected by this deprecation (e.g. items in your Safe/Blocked Senders list will still be filtered per your settings).

Check out this help article for more on how the Junk Email options work.

Will I still have a Junk folder in Outlook?

All customers will continue to have a Junk folder.

For customers using Outlook with their mailbox in Office 365 or Outlook.com, emails landing in the Junk folder will be determined by Exchange Online Protection (or a 3rd party solution) or by Outlook’s Blocked Senders list.

Customers using Outlook with other email servers or services will benefit from upstream email filtering (such as EOP or 3rd party solutions) in their respective environments. These email providers and filters will send items to Outlook’s junk folder.

Does this deprecation affect the SmartScreen technologies in Windows 8-10, Edge and Internet Explorer?

As stated before, this does not impact the SmartScreen Filter online protection feature built into Windows, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer browsers to help people to stay protected from malicious websites and downloads. Those protection tools will remain in place. For more information on how these SmartScreen technologies provide protection, see this link for Windows and this for Edge.
Click to expand...

Source: Deprecating support for SmartScreen in Outlook and Exchange

:)

Sven Johannsen · Aug 31, 2016

Can the Calendar, to do & tasks from Outlook be synced by cable ?

Can the Calendar, to do & tasks from Outlook be synced by cable ?
Click to expand...

ToDo in Calendar and Tasks are only sync'd if you are using an Exchange server. They are not when using the Outlook Connector. The Connector doesn't support it.

Remember the phone never syncs with Outlook. The Phone syncs with some server, and Outlook syncs with the same server. If that happens to be Exchange, such as a company Exchange installation, or hosted Exchange like Office365, tasks sync to both Outlook
and the phone from the server.

If you are using Live (Outlook.com/Hotmail.com) tasks will sync to the cloud (server), but the connector doesn't support syncing the tasks to Outlook.

bds1---01 · Aug 31, 2016

Mail for Exchange on Nokia 515

Dear Nokia Support,

I'm running Mail for Exchange version 1.1.43 on the latest version of Nokia 515 and I'm not able to connect to Exchange infrastructure in my organization.

Since SSLv3 was marked as deprecated I seem not able to connect. I receive the error message "Server not found" while trying to connect.

I know that SSL was disabled in my organization infrastructure. Does the application support TLS? I was able to connect to mail servers using default email application via IMAP. But I want to use Mail for Exchange to sync contacts and calendar.

Many thanks for your help.

B.

Windows 10: Deprecating support for SmartScreen in Outlook and Exchange

Deprecating support for SmartScreen in Outlook and Exchange

Deprecating support for SmartScreen in Outlook and Exchange

Deprecating support for SmartScreen in Outlook and Exchange - Similar Threads - Deprecating support SmartScreen

Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool and Troubleshooters deprecation

deprecating contacts and calendar support in iTunes

Smartscreen. Smartscreen. Smartscreen.

outlook cannot connect to the exchange server

outlook 2010 remove microft exchange

Outlook not finding Exchange???

Outlook 2016 with Exchange/Domains

Deprecated

Outlook 2016 not talking to Exchange 2010