Hi again )))) So, today two articles )))) its Friday!
Microsoft noticed that people share sketchy links in Teams chats like they’re passing notes in high school. To combat this, they’re rolling out a feature to automatically warn users when a link looks fishy. Because yes, phishing attacks are still the thing.
What’s the Deal?
Here’s how it works (or will work, once it’s fully live):
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It’s part of Microsoft Defender for Office 365.
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When someone posts a URL in Teams—internal or external—Teams will check it against Microsoft’s threat intelligence + ML-engine to see if it’s shady.
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If the link is flagged, the recipient sees a warning banner before they click. Nice.
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Bonus: the sender gets a heads-up too. They can edit or delete the message. Because maybe they really didn’t know. Or maybe they want plausible deniability.
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Even if nobody notices at first—if a link later becomes identified as malicious (within ~48 hours) Microsoft will retroactively tag it with a warning. They call that Zero-hour Auto Purge (ZAP).
When & Where
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Roll-out starts with public preview for enterprise customers ~September 2025.
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Full general availability by mid-November 2025.
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Available on desktop, web, Android, iOS. So everywhere you might catch yourself accidentally clicking “Download now!!!” link.
Pros, Skeptical Lens On
What’s good:
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This is proactive. Warning before click reduces risk significantly.
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Retroactive warnings help catch things that slip through (zero-hour recovery).
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Incorporation of ML + threat intelligence means detection should get better over time.
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Default on rollout (once out of preview) means orgs won’t have to flip a million switches.
What to watch out for (because I’m picky):
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ML & threat intel systems often have false positives. Warnings on safe links annoy users; too many and people just ignore them (“ah, Microsoft warning again, meh.”)
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Malicious URL detection is arms race. Attackers can obfuscate links, use redirection, new domains, etc. Might beat the system until updated.
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Retroactive (“ZAP”) is cool, but after damage could be done. If user clicked before it got flagged, they might have already downloaded malware or given credentials.
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Admin-opt-in in preview means some orgs might delay or misconfigure, leaving gaps.
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Cross-platform consistency and UI clarity matter. If the warning banner is vague or hidden, people will ignore it.
What You Should Do — If You Run a Org & Don’t Wanna Be That Guy
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Enable this feature early (during preview) if your org has the ability. Don’t wait until November. Better safe than sorry.
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Train users: “If you see a warning, stop. Don’t click first, ask questions.” (Yes, security awareness is still half the battle.)
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Review/adjust messaging policies & internal communication docs so that users know what flagged links mean, what to do, etc.
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Monitor how many warnings are firing, false positives, user feedback. If people are annoyed, refine the thresholds or filters.
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Keep your Defender / threat intel updated. If Microsoft’s database doesn’t know about a threat, nothing else helps much.
Bottom Line
Microsoft Teams adding link warnings is a good move. Not a silver bullet, but a solid firewall piece in the bigger picture. Because real life: even when you try to block everything, sneaky attackers find cracks.
So yeah — this is defense doing its job. But doesn’t hurt to stay sharp, question everything, and don’t click links from people who swear “trust me” over chat.
))))) Have a good weekend my dear friends,
Alex