Information Technology Services (ITS) has implemented two new Microsoft Defender for Office 365 features: Safe Links and Safe Attachments.

Safe Links scans URLs in incoming emails to determine if the hyperlinks are malicious. If found to be malicious, Safe Links will block access to the hyperlink and prevent the destination site from loading.

Safe Attachments scans email attachments in incoming email messages for malicious content before being delivered to recipients. If detected as unsafe, the attachment will be removed from the email and replaced by a short text file named “Malware Alert Text.txt” to indicate to the recipient the malicious attachment file name and action taken.

The addition of Safe Links and Safe Attachments to your email is automatic, and no action is required.

What to Expect

• Safe Links: This feature re-writes URLs found in incoming emails, and you may notice links have a prefix such as https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com. If you believe a site was blocked by mistake, please report it to the ITS Support Center by forwarding the message as an attachment to support@gmu.edu.
• Safe Attachments: This feature may cause a small delay in email delivery depending on the size of the attachments to allow the scanning to occur. If you believe an attachment was removed by error, please contact the ITS Support Center who can assist with recovering it.
  For more information about ATP Safe Links and Safe Attachments, visit Office 365 Email.

If you have questions or experience issues, please contact the ITS Support Center at 703-993-8870 or support@gmu.edu.