The Edge WebView2 component allows Outlook for Windows to use components developed for OWA, like the new version of the calendar Room Finder. This version is also part of Microsoft’s One Outlook initiative to improve the sharing of components across the different Outlook clients. They don’t say what Outlook client will support HTTP/2, but you can bet that it won’t be retrofitted to older clients, and you’ll need to use the Outlook click-to-run client that’s part of Microsoft 365 apps for enterprise. New Outlook Technologyįrom a technology perspective, Microsoft is working on support for HTTP/2, a full-duplex protocol that reduces latency.
Even better, people can then use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), a step which reduces the chances that attackers will compromise their accounts by 99% according to experts like Alex Weinert (his TEC 2021 talk on protecting against attacks is really worthwhile). Updating clients to Outlook 2013 Service Pack 1 or later enables people to secure their accounts with modern authentication (the tenant must also be configured for Exchange Online to use modern authentication). This long-running campaign has not progressed as smoothly as Microsoft wished, mostly because of the massive number of tenants still using basic authentication across a variety of email connection protocols from IMAP4 to Exchange Web Services to SMTP. One of the reasons why Microsoft wants people to use newer clients is the desire to remove basic authentication. The Hafnium and other attacks happened against on-premises Exchange servers exposed to the internet, but it’s a wonder why the proverbial penny didn’t fall for tenant administrators to prompt them to query the wisdom of permitting the use of old client technology.
Given the publicity about attacks against Exchange Server earlier this year, it’s remarkable that organizations allow such old client software to remain in active use.
They say that Microsoft customer support teams will reach out to customers still using the old versions to “ help them meet the deadline.” Maybe that’s code for “sell new versions of Outlook.”įigure 1: Outlook 2007 (source: Microsoft) Time to Move to More Secure Protocols Interestingly, Microsoft notes that “ some customers just can’t quit” using Outlook 2007 (Figure 1), Outlook 2010, and earlier versions of Outlook 2013. In this case, if people are using Outlook for Windows clients older than Outlook 2013 Service Pack 1 (complete with the latest fixes), they won’t be able to connect to their Exchange Online mailboxes after November 1. As Microsoft notes, “ we are quickly approaching the November 1 deadline…” Time can move slowly when replacing old client versions in IT infrastructures and Outlook is no different. Outlook’s November 1 DeadlineĪll of which brings me to the news that November 1 is the drop-dead date for connectivity for some older Outlook versions.
This task is harder than it seems because announcements are spread across the message center in the Microsoft 365 admin center, blog posts issued by individual development groups, plus some corporate news posts. In a nutshell, you need to keep an eye on Microsoft announcements and updates to know when things will happen.
Keeping track of important dates for feature deprecation, retirement, and announcements across an ecosystem like Microsoft 365 can take some effort. Tracking Important Dates across Microsoft 365