Advanced Email Threat Protection

Advanced Email Threat Protection

Suggested tags: email, security, phishing, spam, quarantine, messaging, Microsoft 365

Elon University Information Technology (IT) uses Microsoft Defender for Office 365 to help protect your email from spam, phishing attempts, malicious links, and harmful attachments.

Microsoft automatically examines incoming messages to identify potential threats. Depending on the results, a message may be delivered to your Inbox, moved to your Junk Email folder, or placed in quarantine.

The following sections explain these protections and how to review messages that Microsoft may have incorrectly identified as unwanted or suspicious.

URL Protection

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 uses a feature called Safe Links to protect you from malicious or suspicious website links in email.

When you click a protected link, Microsoft checks the destination to determine whether it is safe to open.

If the destination is considered suspicious or dangerous, a warning page may appear instead of the requested website.

What should I do if I receive a Safe Links warning?

If Microsoft displays a warning that a website may be unsafe:

  1. Do not enter your password or personal information.

  2. Do not download files from the suspicious website.

  3. Select Go Back or close the browser tab.

  4. Contact the IT Service Desk if you believe a legitimate website has been blocked.

Some warning pages may offer an option to continue, depending on the University's security settings. Other warnings may prevent access entirely.

Important: IT recommends that you do not bypass Microsoft security warnings, even when a Continue option is available.

For more information, see Microsoft's documentation on Safe Links and warning pages.

Junk Email Folder

Microsoft 365 automatically identifies messages that appear to be spam or unwanted email.

Examples include unsolicited advertisements, promotional messages, and suspicious messages that do not meet the criteria for quarantine.

These messages may be delivered to your Junk Email folder instead of your Inbox.

How do I check my Junk Email folder?

  1. Open Outlook on your computer or sign in at email.elon.edu.

  2. In the folder list on the left, select Junk Email.

  3. Review the messages to determine whether any legitimate emails were incorrectly identified as junk.

IT recommends checking this folder regularly, particularly if you are expecting an email that has not arrived.

How do I move a legitimate message out of Junk Email?

If you find a legitimate message in your Junk Email folder:

  1. Select the message.

  2. Select Not junk or Report > Not junk, depending on your version of Outlook.

  3. Confirm the action if prompted.

Outlook will move the message out of your Junk Email folder.

How do I add someone to my Safe Senders list?

You can add trusted email addresses or domains to your Outlook Safe Senders list.

  1. Sign in to email.elon.edu.

  2. Select Settings (gear icon).

  3. Navigate to Mail > Junk email. You may need to select View all Outlook settings first.

  4. Find Safe senders and domains.

  5. Select Add and enter the email address or domain.

  6. Save your changes.

Note: Adding a sender to your Safe Senders list does not override all University email security protections. Emails identified as dangerous may still be blocked or quarantined.

For more information, see Microsoft's instructions for managing blocked and safe senders.

Spam Quarantine

Microsoft 365 quarantine provides additional protection against unwanted or potentially dangerous email.

Messages identified as spam, phishing, or containing other potential security threats may be held in quarantine rather than delivered to your mailbox.

Unlike the Junk Email folder, quarantined messages must be reviewed and, when permitted, released before they can be delivered.

Quarantine Notification Emails

Microsoft 365 may send quarantine notification emails from:

quarantine@messaging.microsoft.com

These notifications identify messages that have been placed in quarantine and may provide options to review or release them.

Notifications are sent according to the University's configured security policies. The frequency and available actions can vary.

Important: If you do not receive a quarantine notification, that does not necessarily mean your quarantine is empty.

You can check your quarantine manually at any time.

What does a quarantine notification look like?

Quarantine notifications generally include the sender, subject, and received date of quarantined messages.

Depending on the message and the security policy, the notification may provide options such as:

  • Review message: Opens the message in the Microsoft Defender quarantine portal.

  • Release: Releases the message to your mailbox when permitted.

  • Request release: Requests that an administrator review the message for possible release.

Not all actions are available for every message.

How do I view my quarantined email?

Step 1: Open Microsoft Defender Quarantine

Open your web browser and visit:

https://security.microsoft.com/quarantine

Sign in using your Elon University Microsoft 365 account if prompted.

Step 2: Review your quarantined messages

The Microsoft Defender portal opens to the Quarantine page.

Select the Email tab.

Depending on your available permissions, the list displays details including:

  • Time received

  • Subject

  • Sender

  • Quarantine reason

  • Release status

  • Expiration date

Use Search or Filter to locate a particular message. If a message is missing, check the date filter.

Step 3: Review a message

Select a message in the list to open its details.

You can review information about the sender and the reason the message was quarantined.

If available, select Preview message to examine the contents before releasing it.

How do I release a quarantined email?

Only release email from senders you recognize and trust.

Step 1: Select the message

On the Quarantine page, select the message you want to release.

Step 2: Select Release

Select Release from the toolbar or Release email from the message details panel.

Step 3: Confirm the release

A panel titled Release message to your Inbox appears.

You may see the option:

Report message as having no threats

Select this option if you believe the message was incorrectly identified as suspicious and you want to submit that assessment to Microsoft.

Select Release message to continue.

Step 4: Check your Inbox

After Microsoft confirms the release, select Done.

The email will be delivered to your Outlook mailbox. Depending on your mailbox rules, it may appear in the Inbox or another folder.

Released messages may appear with a new delivery time.

What if I see Request Release instead?

Some quarantined messages cannot be released directly by users.

If your quarantine policy permits release requests:

  1. Select the quarantined message.

  2. Select Request release, or find it under More options in the message details panel.

  3. Review the request and select Request release to confirm.

  4. Select Done when the confirmation appears.

The message's release status changes to Release requested.

An administrator must review and approve the request before the message can be delivered.

Important: Some messages containing serious security threats, including malware or high-confidence phishing, may be visible only to administrators. Depending on the security policy, a message may not offer either Release or Request release.

 

What happens if I do nothing?

Quarantined messages are retained for a limited period determined by Microsoft 365 security policies.

You can see a message's expiration date in the Expires column.

After the retention period expires, the message is permanently removed from quarantine and cannot be recovered.

What if an expected email is missing?

If you are expecting an email that has not arrived:

  1. Check your Outlook Inbox.

  2. Check your Junk Email folder.

  3. Visit Microsoft 365 Quarantine.

  4. Search for the sender or subject and verify the date filter.

  5. Contact the IT Service Desk if you cannot find or release the message.

Some messages may be restricted to administrator access and will not appear in your personal quarantine view.

For additional guidance, see Microsoft's documentation for managing quarantined email.

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