14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is implementing a new security feature in its Office productivity suite to block malicious links that are included in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.
Documents hiding links leading to dangerous websites or malware-infected pages have been around for a while, and this is why Microsoft is introducing the Advanced Threat Protection Safe Links feature with support for the Office suite, trying to provide users with an additional protection layer when working on the desktop.
Specifically aimed at Office 365 ProPlus subscribers, the new security feature will provide users with a warning whenever they click a link that’s flagged as dangerous, with two options to be displayed, so they’ll be allowed to either close the page or continue to the site despite the risk of getting infected with malware.
Users can ignore security warnings
Outlook will also support this feature and Microsoft says that IT administrators will be even allowed to completely block access to flagged pages, which means that users would no longer be able to skip the warning and continue to those dangerous websites.
Of course, this makes the new security feature useless if the warning is ignored and the website is indeed compromised, and Microsoft promises to try keeping these alerts as accurate as possible.
“This new capability will further integrate and expand security across Office 365. Our intent has always been to provide our customers with an end-to-end, unified and secure experience across all of Office 365, and this extended capability of Safe Links is an example of our continued step toward this goal,” Microsoft says.
“As cyber criminals broaden the scope of attacks beyond email workloads, it’s necessary to extend security capabilities beyond email. The Safe Links feature in ATP protects customers from malicious links in email.”
The feature will become available later this month and there’s still no word on whether Microsoft plans to expand it to other Office 365 subscribers as well.