2022 CW 21 Microsoft 365 Message Center changes

This change applies to folder shortcuts which have been added using the “Add to OneDrive” feature as opposed to Windows shortcuts. These folder shortcuts can be differentiated by the folder icon and the owner information visible in the Sharing column.

An example of a folder shortcut is shown below

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 88277

[When this will happen:]

We will begin rolling this out in late February and expect to complete rollout mid-May (previously late April).

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 88277

[When this will happen:]

We will begin rolling this out in late February and expect to complete rollout late May (previously mid-May).

To create a more consistent user experience across all policies in Microsoft Defender for Office portal the following Safe Links policy attributes will be migrated from the Global Settings flyout to the custom policy settings.

Note: Use Safe Links in Office 365 Apps

Do Not Track when users click protected links in Office 365 Apps

Do not let users click through the Original URL in Office 365 Apps

[When this will happen:]

We will begin rolling this out in early May and expect to complete rollout late June.

To create a more consistent user experience across all policies in Microsoft Defender for Office portal the following Safe Links policy attributes will be migrated from the Global Settings flyout to the custom policy settings.

Note: Use Safe Links in Office 365 Apps

Do Not Track when users click protected links in Office 365 Apps

Do not let users click through the Original URL in Office 365 Apps

[When this will happen:]

We will begin rolling this out in early May and expect to complete rollout late June.

Once the user has requested an app, the admin can see the request on the Manage apps page in the ‘Request by users’ column and manage them on the app details page. Manage requests link will provide admins with the steps to allow or reject the request. When admin approves an app request, the app will be available for the users to install.

This experience enables users to seamlessly communicate with Teams admins, and request apps that would improve their work in Teams. We are excited to bring this feature to our users, and we look forward to building on top of this. Stay tuned for more updates about this experience in the coming months.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 84469.

[When this will happen:]

We expect to begin rolling this out in late April and expect the rollout to be completed by early May.

Once the user has requested an app, the admin can see the request on the Manage apps page in the ‘Request by users’ column and manage them on the app details page. Manage requests link will provide admins with the steps to allow or reject the request. When admin approves an app request, the app will be available for the users to install.

This experience enables users to seamlessly communicate with Teams admins, and request apps that would improve their work in Teams. We are excited to bring this feature to our users, and we look forward to building on top of this. Stay tuned for more updates about this experience in the coming months.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 84469.

[When this will happen:]

We expect to begin rolling this out in late April and expect the rollout to be completed by late June (previously early May).

[Key points]

Timing: begin rolling out in late May (previously early May) and expect to complete by mid-June (previously early June)

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 88884

The URL verdict changes to bad after the user has already clicked it.

A user clicks through (overrides the warning page) for a known, bad URL.

As part of the work to expand the scope of the alert for user clicks in workloads other than email (future roadmap), we’re splitting the existing alert policy based on those two scenarios.

The current alert policy 'A potentially malicious URL click was detected' will cover the ‘URL verdict change’ (# 1 above) scenario.

A new default alert policy named 'A user clicked through to a potentially malicious URL' will now cover the click through (# 2 above) scenario. The functionality in terms of alert generation, notification, AIR, and Incident correlation remain the same.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93211.

[When this will happen:]

We expect this rollout to begin in mid-May and expect the rollout to be completed by late June.

The URL verdict changes to bad after the user has already clicked it.

A user clicks through (overrides the warning page) for a known, bad URL.

As part of the work to expand the scope of the alert for user clicks in workloads other than email (future roadmap), we’re splitting the existing alert policy based on those two scenarios.

The current alert policy 'A potentially malicious URL click was detected' will cover the ‘URL verdict change’ (# 1 above) scenario.

A new default alert policy named 'A user clicked through to a potentially malicious URL' will now cover the click through (# 2 above) scenario. The functionality in terms of alert generation, notification, AIR, and Incident correlation remain the same.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93211.

[When this will happen:]

We expect this rollout to begin in early June (previously mid-May) and expect the rollout to be completed by late July (previously late June).

The current notification settings are commonly used for messages that are blocked/quarantined as detected malware, or due to a file attachment in the common attachment filter settings.

As part of this change, we’re separating out the handling of notifications based on whether the message was scanned and found to be malicious vs. matches from the common attachment filter:

True malware: Both recipient and sender notifications will be retired. The message will be quarantined, and the selected quarantine policy configuration determines whether to send the end-user notifications. There is no option for sender notification.

Common attachment filter: Notifications are split into two distinct options that the admin can choose (one or the other):

Recipient notifications only: As with true malware detections, the selected quarantine policy configuration determines whether to send end-user notifications. There is no option for sender notifications.

Non delivery report (also known as NDR or bounce message)) to sender: The message is rejected in an NDR to the sender. The message is not quarantined, is not recoverable, and there’s no option for recipient notifications.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93212

[When this will happen:]

Starting mid-May 2022 and completion of deployment by late June 2022

The current notification settings are commonly used for messages that are blocked/quarantined as detected malware, or due to a file attachment in the common attachment filter settings.

As part of this change, we’re separating out the handling of notifications based on whether the message was scanned and found to be malicious vs. matches from the common attachment filter:

True malware: Both recipient and sender notifications will be retired. The message will be quarantined, and the selected quarantine policy configuration determines whether to send the end-user notifications. There is no option for sender notification.

Common attachment filter: Notifications are split into two distinct options that the admin can choose (one or the other):

Recipient notifications only: As with true malware detections, the selected quarantine policy configuration determines whether to send end-user notifications. There is no option for sender notifications.

Non delivery report (also known as NDR or bounce message)) to sender: The message is rejected in an NDR to the sender. The message is not quarantined, is not recoverable, and there’s no option for recipient notifications.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93212

[When this will happen:]

Starting early June (previously mid-May) and completion of deployment by late July (previously late June)

When will this happen:

The links in the Tech Community post can be used until the Microsoft Evaluation Center experience has been restored and are a temporary measure. Once the Evaluation Center is restored, the links will automatically redirect to the appropriate Evaluation Center pages.

Additional information:

See the Tech Community post on Accessing trials and kits for Windows for more details.

The Microsoft Evaluation Center enables organizations, and the IT professionals that support them, to download evaluation versions of Microsoft products. This experience is currently unavailable and work is underway to restore it. In the meantime, we have published an article that includes direct links to download the evaluation software for Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows Server 2022, and Windows Server 2019 as well as the Windows Virtual Hardware Lab Kit (VHLK) and the Windows 11 and Windows 10 and Office 365 Deployment Lab Kits.

When will this happen:

The Microsoft Evaluation Center is available again starting May 20. See www.microsoft.com/EvalCenter.

Additional information:

See the Tech Community post on Accessing trials and kits for Windows for more details.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93279

[When this will happen:]

Targeted release: beginning in early June expect to complete by mid June.

Standard/GCC/GCC-High/DoD release: beginning in early June expect to complete by mid June.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93279

[When this will happen:]

Targeted release: beginning in early June expect to complete by mid June.

Standard/GCC/GCC-High/DoD release: beginning in early June expect to complete by mid June.

All versions are available only on the Microsoft Update Catalog and will not be offered through Windows Update. For instructions, see the release notes for your OS listed below.

Cumulative updates:

Windows Server 2022: KB5015013

Windows Server, version 20H2: KB5015020

Windows Server 2019: KB5015018

Windows Server 2016: KB5015019

Note: You do not need to apply any previous update before installing these cumulative updates.

Standalone Updates:

Windows Server 2012 R2: KB5014986

Windows Server 2012: KB5014991

Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1: KB5014987

Windows Server 2008 SP2: KB5014990

Note: If you are using security only updates for these versions of Windows Server, you only need to install these updates for the month of May. If you are using Monthly Rollup updates, you will need to install both the standalone update listed above, and the Monthly rollups released May 10, 2022.

All versions are available only on the Microsoft Update Catalog and will not be offered through Windows Update. For instructions, see the release notes for your OS listed below.

Cumulative updates:

Windows Server 2022: KB5015013

Windows Server, version 20H2: KB5015020

Windows Server 2019: KB5015018

Windows Server 2016: KB5015019

Note: You do not need to apply any previous update before installing these cumulative updates.

Standalone Updates:

Windows Server 2012 R2: KB5014986

Windows Server 2012: KB5014991

Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1: KB5014987

Windows Server 2008 SP2: KB5014990

Note: If you are using security only updates for these versions of Windows Server, you only need to install these standalone updates for the month of May 2022. Security only updates are not cumulative, and you will also need to install all previous Security only updates to be fully up to date. Monthly rollup updates are cumulative and include security and all quality updates. If you are using Monthly rollup updates, you will need to install both the standalone updates listed above to resolve this issue, and install the Monthly rollups released May 10, 2022 to receive the quality updates for May 2022.