Windows 10: Whitelist URL/Domain in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen

Hi Team,

We, Zoho Docs are a Cloud based Document Management Software provided by Zoho Corporation; check this link - https://www.zoho.com/docs/ for more details. Our product has a feature which allows files/folders uploaded to Docs and can be shared to everyone on the internet. These links are hosted in a domain https://docs.zoho.com owned by ZohoCorporation.

We learnt that Microsoft Defender SmartScreen has categorised this domain http://docs.zoho.com as a phishing site and our customers receive alerts I've attached screenshots of the same. Customers using IE 11.




Can you classify the domain "http://docs.zoho.com" as non-malicious so that our customers will be able to access the domain without any hassles.

Here are the steps we perform to ensure that malware content does not get hosted from Zoho Docs
1. We have an Anti Virus scan in place which validates the files during upload. This ensures that most malware cannot be uploaded to the cloud at all.
2. We also have a spam and fraudulence detection algorithm in place which identifies if the uploaded files are phishing documents.

This means most spamming documents get filtered out as spam and never get published.

We also regularly monitor abuse complaints from our customers to ensure that the few links that were missed to be captured by our mitigation steps are duly pulled down. Despite our best efforts to identify spam and spammers a few spam files do get published from Docs and in such unfortunate instances the entire domain gets blocked.

Is there any other option to whitelist the domain docs.zoho.com / writer.zoho.com other than requesting the user to mark the site as safe - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/microsoft-defender-smartscreen/microsoft-defender-smartscreen-set-individual-device#how-users-can-report-websites-as-safe-or-unsafe


Are there any tools to check the domain reputation in Microsoft Defender also submit the domain reputation reviewal ?

:)

 

Microsoft Defender Smartscreen

Hi COLINGILBERT1,

Sorry to hear you're experiencing this issue. I'm an Independent Advisor and consumer of Microsoft products just like you. Let me help you with your concern.

Microsoft Defender SmartScreen checks downloaded files against a list of reported malicious software sites and known unsafe programs and against list of files that are well known and downloaded by many Windows users. If the file you downloaded is on the malicious
list or is not commonly downloaded it will show a warning, advising caution. If you believe that the file is not malicious and you trust the source then you can ignore the warning by clicking "Run anyway".

Refer to the below link for the benefits of Microsoft Defender SmartScreen.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/securi...

 

Windows Defender SmartScreen won't let me download ANYTHING.

Hello,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

Please provide some additional information, so that we can assist you better.

1. Which browser you are using to download the application?
   
2. What is the complete error message appears on your computer screen when you click on download?
   
   

We can try and perform few steps and see if it helps.

Step 1: You can refer the Microsoft article related

Windows Defender SmartScreen under the section
how can I download files reported as unsafe by Windows Defender SmartScreen in Internet Explorer 10 or Microsoft Edge.

Step 2: Try to disable SmartScreen.

1. Press Windows + S on your keyboard.
   
2. Click on Internet Options.
   
3. When the Internet Properties window opens, go to the
   Security tab and click Custom level.
   
4. Locate the Miscellaneous section. Now, locate Use
   SmartScreen Filter option and set it to disable. Click OK to save changes.
   
5. You can disable SmartScreen by going to the
   advanced tab and unchecking the Enable SmartScreen Filter option. After doing that, click
   Apply and OK to save changes.
   
6. Restart your computer to effect the settings.
   

Hope it helps.

Let us know if you got the help you needed by clicking ‘Yes or No’.

Harish

Microsoft Community – Moderator

 

Defender/SmartScreen warning.

Though this doesn't explain why an application's specific reputation might have changed, the addition of granular controls for these settings in the recently released Windows 10 Creators Update may have something to do with it.

Smartscreen in Creators Update

This newer implementation of SmartScreen within Windows 10 has also been renamed to

Windows Defender SmartScreen rather than the old Windows SmartSreen and SmartScreen Filter name within the browser.

Again, none of this specifically explains a change in reputation, but it's possible that all of these changes might have affected the reputation for some applications or certificates.

Since you didn't specify what type of certificate you are using, since this affects the ability to add or gain reputation status more quickly. The

Windows Defender SmartScreen® Filter Frequently Asked Questions page covers this as follows.

There are industry best practices for application developers that will affect your download's reputation and help ensure reputation is established and maintained. If your program is not digitally signed, reputation cannot automatically be shared
across different versions and builds.

To help establish your application's reputation, consider doing the following:

• Digitally sign your programs with an Authenticode signature
  
  Reputation is generated and assigned to digital certificates as well as specific files. Digital certificates allow data to be aggregated and assigned to a single certificate rather than many individual programs. Only Authenticode Certificates issued by a Certificate
  Authority (CA) that is a member of the Windows Root Certificate Program can establish reputation.
• Apply for a Windows Logo
  
  To learn more visit the
  Windows Logo Program page on MSDN.

Rob