Data security is the be-all and end-all. It is particularly important for companies to protect their data. After all, this is also data that determines the market position. Nowadays, hackers have many ways to attack from the comfort of their own homes. By email, for example. Many have already fallen victim to Trojans or ransomware.

However, not using the internet at all is of course not an option. To prevent the risk of a successful attack, warnings or blocking such files are helpful. In Outlook, it is very easy to create rules for certain senders or files:

1. open the Admin Center and switch to Exchange:

2 Once there, go to the Message flow tab. You land directly in the Rules tab. Click on the + and you can create new rules:

Once here, click on More options and start filling in:

3. now enter the key data for the new regulation.

Under Apply this rule when … you can select when this rule should take effect. Here you can choose between options such as the name of the sender or recipient or the content of the subject, the message text or the attachment.

If you want a rule to take effect when you receive an .exe file, for example, you can make the following selection and enter .exe as the keyword. Several keywords can be entered in each case.

File types that should be blocked, according to the Microsoft Docs page (our source), are these:

Ade, ADP, Ani, Bas, bat, CHM, cmd, com, CPL, CRT, HLP, HT, HTA, inf, ins, ISP, Job, JS, JSE, lnk, MDA, MDB, MDE, MDZ, MSC, MSI, MSP, MST, PCD, SHS, URL, VB, Visual Basic, VBS, WSC, WSF, WSH, exe, PIF.

And a warning should be issued for these endings:

DOTM, DOCM, XLSM, sltm, XLA, xlam, XLL, PPTM, POTM, PPAM, PPSM, sldm

This is how to type them in:

Then don’t forget to press the + to save the whole thing. You can add as many endings as you like here.

Under Proceed as follows … I can now select what should happen as soon as a rule is triggered: Should the message be forwarded to a responsible person or deleted directly? Should it be redirected? …

Hackers are not stupid. That’s why they use file formats that are often used in everyday life. That’s what makes it so dangerous. For this reason, it is also bad to block everything and delete it directly, otherwise problems will arise when employees have to send something to each other.

You should therefore pay attention to the last point:

4. add exception

Be sure to use exceptions! Here you can choose when this rule is overridden. For example, when a trusted person sends or receives something.

Microsoft Docs has other features that help to make Outlook even more secure.

Of course, every company has to decide for itself what arrangements to make and how to react. But it is definitely worth giving it some thought.

Questions about the Admin Center or the various Microsoft 365 packages? We are happy to take the time to answer your questions. Simply contact us via the contact form or call us directly!