Feel Like You’re Missing Important Emails? Tips for Navigating Purdue’s New Email Security System

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Do you feel like you may be missing emails that you definitely want to receive? In the past year, Purdue began piloting a new email security service that can affect how your incoming messages are being handled.

Purdue IT has been replacing its email security tool, IronPort, with Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (MDO), which provides comprehensive, real-time security coverage for cloud mailboxes. While most functionality and feature changes have been transparent in daily use, some are making a noticeable impact. 

To date, MDO has been deployed to more than 20,000 users. The program now is being rolled out to the rest of campus. If you are on the list of remaining users to get MDO, you will receive, or may recently have received, an explanatory message from Purdue IT. Regardless of whether you already have, or are soon to get MDO, here’s some basic information and quick tips, compiled by our own PVMIT, to help you understand the changes and avoid having important messages find their way into mailboxes you normally don’t check.

What is MDO?

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (MDO) is an integrated, cross-domain threat detection and response solution that protects Purdue University accounts from malicious phishing emails, marketing scams, etc.

Why did we switch to it?

Using Microsoft’s machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), MDO blocks threats before they become attacks.

What does this mean for me?

This new email security service tries to identify threats early, meaning that more of your emails may end up in Outlook’s Junk folder or in quarantine.

What do I need to do?

Check your Junk folder within Outlook and the quarantine portal frequently to confirm important emails were not identified as threats erroneously.

What will go into my Junk folder?

Spam emails, such as unsolicited advertisements or newsletters, and graymail emails, which are bulk emails you have opted into, will be sent to your junk folder. By right-clicking on an email message in your Junk folder and selecting Junk > Not Junk, you can move the email to your Inbox and keep future messages from that email address out of your Junk folder. Click here to learn more about filtering your Junk folder and adding senders to your safelist.

What will go into my security quarantine?

Emails marked as malicious, such as phishing emails or any others identified as threats, are placed in a security quarantine. These emails will remain in quarantine until you request release through the quarantine portal and an administrator approves it. Specific questions about release requests can be directed to security@purdue.edu.

Writer(s): Alyx Guadarrama and Kevin Doerr | pvmnews@purdue.edu