Service Summary | Key Features | Getting This Service | Policy |

Service Summary

Office 365 is the university's email and calendar system. It is fully supported by the ITS Support Center and can be accessed via the login at mso365.gmu.edu by using your Mason credentials (NetID and Patriot Pass Password) and Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). Using 2FA adds an additional layer of security to all applications in Office 365 accounts including email, calendar, OneDrive for Business, and more.

Office 365 email accounts contain the @gmu.edu domain name.

Data within the Office 365 system is not backed up by George Mason University. Account-holders are responsible for backing up their own data and preserving copies of important messages and attachments.

Office 365 is a cloud-based system that is available from any internet-enabled computer or mobile device and provides 50 GB storage, reliability, antivirus, and anti-spam features.

Key Features

Safe Links

Safe Links scans URLs in incoming emails to determine if the hyperlinks are malicious. This feature also re-writes URLs found in incoming emails with the following prefix: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com. If the link is determined to be safe to view, it can be accessed as expected. If the link in the incoming message appears to be malicious, Safe Links will block access to the hyperlink and prevent the destination site from loading. 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.

For more, see Safe Links Information.

Safe Attachments

Safe Attachments scans email attachments in incoming email messages for malicious content before being delivered to recipients. If the attachment is safe, it will be delivered as expected. If an attachment is detected by Microsoft Defender for Office 365 as unsafe, it 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. Safe Attachments may cause a small delay in email delivery depending on the size of the attachments to allow the scanning to occur.

For more, see Safe Attachments Information.

Getting This Service

Eligibility

Email and calendar are part of your Office 365 Account. Office 365 accounts are automatically established for each student when admitted and employee when hired. When employees stop working at George Mason University, they will no longer be able to access their Office 365 accounts. Retirees and Generic Accounts are also eligible for this service.

General Requirements

  • 2FA Enrollment: To use Office 365 at Mason, you must be enrolled in Duo Two-Factor Authentication (2FA); learn more about using 2FA and Office 365 at 2FA for Office 365 Tips
  • Compatibility and Support:  Microsoft Outlook is the supported email client for web browsers, desktop clients, and mobile devices.  Outlook provides a consistent, supported user experience and supports Microsoft’s modern authentication requirement

Email Client Support

ITS standardized with Microsoft Outlook for the Office 365 email and calendar applications.  Access your Mason email via one or more of these supported methods:

  • Web Browser—Outlook on the Web (any browser) at http://mso365.gmu.edu
  • Desktop Clients—Outlook 2019 or Higher (Windows or Mac)
  • Mobile Devices—Outlook Mobile App for Android and Apple iOS

For a detailed list of email clients and their support, see Which operating system should my device be running?

Policy

Users of Office 365 are responsible for all activity on their accounts, including password resets and abuse, and must adhere to University Policy Number 1301: Responsible Use of Computing.

Employees must also adhere to:

Employee Security Bulletin

This service is intended for work-related public use data only. The University Data Stewardship Policy defines data classified for public use. Users are responsible for understanding and complying with this policy. For more information about data usage and classifications, reference the following: