Purpose
Microsoft 365 email at UTD includes Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), which defends your inbox from today’s growing and evolving advanced threats. It has robust safeguards like Safe Links, which provides time-of-click protection to help prevent users from opening or accessing malicious links, and Safe Attachments, which protects users from opening malicious email attachments. More information on these services is below. This article applies to Microsoft 365 Email ATPSafe Links/Attachments.
Explanation
Microsoft 365 Safe Links/Attachments (Microsoft 365 Mail Only)
Safe Links/Attachments provide additional protection from files containing viruses, phishing links, or other malicious content by opening and testing them in a virtual environment before delivery. Messages sent to UTD Microsoft 365 e-mail inboxes with malicious attachments will be blocked by Safe Links/Attachments. Links not on the UTD whitelist will be rewritten to include Safe Links protection.
The way you see the link depends on the message and the client used to send the message:
Plain Text Email
Emails sent in plain text will have the most visible impact. The URL will be longer than the original, and it will be apparent that it was rewritten to include the Safe Links website first.
HTML/Rich Text Email
HTML email will have a less noticeable impact. The original URL will show in most places, but when accessing mail via the web, you will see the longer Safe Links URL in the browser footer (or elsewhere, depending on the browser)
Safe Links Warning Pages
When clicking a Safe Links protected link, you will often go directly to the original link. However, at times you may see one of the below warning screens. If you have questions about the legitimacy of a link flagged by Safe Links, please contact the Help Desk. The scan can show in several different ways:
ATP is Scanning the Link
ATP Safe Links are scanning a URL. If you encounter this page, it is best to wait for a few minutes for the scan to complete and then try reloading the page.
A URL is in a Suspicious Email Message
The URL is in an email message that seems similar to other email messages that are considered suspicious.
A URL is in a Message Identified as a Phishing Attempt
The URL is in an email message that has been identified as a phishing attack. As a result, all URLs in the email message are blocked.
The Website has been Blassified as Malicious or Blocked by your Administrator
The URL points to a site that has been identified as malicious, or UTD has specifically blocked that.
