Tag: #ExchangeOnline

Concurrent Exchange Online License Assignment Supported! Finally!!!

I’m back from winter break and today’s #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix is #Microsoft365 finally supports concurrent Exchange Online License Assignments!!! This is going to dramatically reduce the administrative burden managing #ExchangeOnline license assignments and specifically will allow an intuitive groups-based licensing strategy!

Previously when Microsoft 365 Tenant Admins tried to assign more then one license pack containing #ExchangeOnline to the same user, whether that be thru the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, #AzureActiveDirectory PowerShell, or group-based licensing, an exception message would be displayed and the assignment rejected.

In this case the user already has an Exchange Online Plan 1 license included in Microsoft 365 Business Standard suite and the Tenant Admin is looking to upgrade the user to an Exchange Online Plan 2 license likely to take advantage of the larger mailbox size, Data Loss Prevention, In-place Hold, or Exchange Online Archiving capabilities.

The same exception message is displayed for any combination of the following licenses:

  • Microsoft 365 Business packages: Basic, Standard, Premium
  • Microsoft / Office 365 F1, F2, F3, E1, E3, E5, A1, A3, A5
  • Exchange Online Essentials
  • Exchange Online Kiosk
  • Exchange Online Plan 1
  • Exchange Online Plan 2
  • Other #MicrosoftTeams and #MicrosoftProject license packs which rely on Exchange Online

Now with this change any combination of the above is allowed and Exchange Online will automatically decide which of the assigned plans is “superior” and will enable the features of that plan (mailbox quotas, transport limits, protocol access, etc.).

When a license is removed Exchange Online will reevaluate and adjust as needed to the new superior plan.

For more information, please see the following Exchange Team Blog post.

#MicrosoftCloudQuickFix #Microsoft365 #AzureActiveDirectory #ExchangeOnline

Exchange Server Security Updates Available for September 2022 Vulnerabilities

Today’s #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix is that #Microsoft has released the November 2022 Exchange Server Security Updates which contain fixes for the CVE-2022-41040 and CVE-2022-41082 vulnerabilities reported at the end of September 2022 and reported discussed on my blog post below:

Exchange Server Patch Alert! – Microsoft Cloud Quick Fix (mscqf.com)

CVE-2022-41040 is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability and can only be exploited by authenticated attackers while CVE-2022-41082 allows remote code execution (RCE) when PowerShell is accessible to the attacker.

The November 2022 Exchange Server Security Updates are available for Exchange Server 2013 CU23 (Note: Support ends in April 2023), Exchange Server 2016 CU22 and CU23, and Exchange Server 2019 CU11 and CU12. Since #Microsoft has been made aware of active exploits of related vulnerabilities their (and my) recommendation is to install these updates immediately!

Microsoft has indicated that #ExchangeOnline customers are already protected from the vulnerabilities addressed in the November 2022 Exchange Server Security Updates and do not need to take any action other than updating any remaining on-premises Exchange servers.

For more information about this and Exchange Server Patching see:

#Microsoft #Microsoft365 #ExchangeOnline #ExchangeServer #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix

Outlook Cloud Based Signatures

Upgrades to how your email signatures are stored will be launching soon. That is today’s #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix !

Email signatures regardless of your mailbox residing on-premises or in Exchange Online have traditionally been stored on your local computer. Users have had to recreate them every time they reinstall Outlook, move to a new device, or leverage multiple devices.

As outline in Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 60371 with this change for mailboxes hosted in Exchange Online, #Microsoft will migrate the local signatures to the cloud automatically, no manual steps are required. This means the same set of signatures will be available on any Windows (Microsoft 365) or Web version of Outlook, and you will no longer need to reconfigure your signatures when getting a new device.

Per Microsoft if you use 3rd party solutions in your environment for signature management this change will not impact you at this time.

For more information, please see the following Microsoft Support page.

#MicrosoftCloudQuickFix #Microsoft365 #ExchangeOnline

Exchange Server Patch Alert!

Get ready to patch your on-premises versions of Exchange Server ASAP! This is today’s #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix !

Yet again as announced by #Microsoft on Friday September 30, 2022 there are two new reported zero-day vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, 2016, and 2019 that are being exploited…

CVE-2022-41040 is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability and can only be exploited by authenticated attackers while CVE-2022-41082 allows remote code execution (RCE) when PowerShell is accessible to the attacker.

Microsoft has said it’s “working on an accelerated timeline” to provide a patch for the two newly disclosed vulnerabilities and while mitigations exist I would recommend a rapid patch deployment once one is available and of course always keeping your Exchange Servers up-to-date with the latest Cumulative Update (CU) and Security Updates (SU).

Microsoft indicated that #ExchangeOnline customers don’t need to take any action at the moment because the company has detections and mitigation in place and of course will apply the patch seamlessly once available – Anyone still need a business case for migration to #ExchangeOnline ?

For more information about this and Exchange Server Patching see:

#Microsoft #Microsoft365 #ExchangeOnline #MicrosoftExchangeServer #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix

Sept 30, 2022 – New Podcast Available

Today I chat with Andrew Lowes about the new Exchange Online PowerShell V3 module.

#Microsoft #Microsoft365 #ExchangeOnline #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix

URLs shown in today’s video podcast include:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/exchange/exchange-online-powershell-v2?view=exchange-ps

https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/ExchangeOnlineManagement/3.0.0

General Availability of Exchange Online PowerShell V3

Microsoft has released Exchange Online PowerShell V3 module. This is today’s #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix !

It is recommended to now use the Exchange Online PowerShell V3 module. Exchange Online cmdlets backed by the REST API are available in Exchange Online PowerShell V3. REST API cmdlets have the following advantages:

  • More secure: REST API cmdlets have built-in support for modern authentication and don’t rely on the remote PowerShell session, so PowerShell on your client computer doesn’t need Basic authentication in WinRM for Exchange Online PowerShell.
  • More reliable: REST API cmdlets handle transient failures with built-in retries, so failures or delays are minimized. For example:
    • Failures due to network delays.
    • Delays due to large queries that take a long time to complete.
  • Better performance: The connection avoids setting up a PowerShell runspace in Exchange Online PowerShell.

For installation and connection instructions, see Exchange Online Management 3.0.0 and Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell.

#MicrosoftCloudQuickFix #Microsoft365 #ExchangeOnline

Exchange Online – Basic Authentication Disabled Oct 1, 2022 – Part Deux

So you have done your due diligence and are sure your in the clear. You would like to manage this change and turn off Basic Authentication and test yourself before and not wait for Microsoft. That is todays #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix !

As outlined in my previous blogpost to prepare for the change check the Azure Active Directory Sign-In logs per New tools to block legacy authentication in your organization – Microsoft Tech Community which will help track down any clients still using Basic Authentication.

If you don’t have any Basic Authentication sign-ins then you can move on to block Basic Authentication for protocols on your tenant.

In your Microsoft 365 Admin Portal Next navigate to settings > Org Settings > under Services > Modern Authentication and ensure that “Turn on modern authentication for Outlook 2013 for Windows and later” is enabled and then under “Allow access to basic authentication protocols” uncheck any protocols you wish to no longer use Basic Authentication. Click “Save” and test.

For more information check out the following Disable Basic authentication in Exchange Online | Microsoft Docs in Microsoft Docs.

#Microsoft365 #ExchangeOnline #BasicAuthentication #ModernAuthentication #MicrosoftCloudSecurity #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix

Exchange Online – Basic Authentication Disabled Oct 1, 2022

There are three work weeks left until #Microsoft is scheduled to disable Basic Authentication access to Exchange Online. This is today’s #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix !

Back in September 2019 Microsoft announced they are disabling Basic Authentication access to Exchange Online to be replaced with Modern Authentication methods built on OAuth 2.0 token-based authorization. Modern Authentication has many improvements which mitigate issues with Basic Authentication and provide an improved security posture but as we are all aware there were circumstances in the world that pushed that date forward.

Beginning October 1, 2022 Microsoft will start disabling Basic Authentication for MAPI, RPC, Offline Address Book (OAB), Exchange Web Services (EWS), POP, IMAP, Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), and Remote PowerShell access protocols on randomly selected Exchange Online tenants. You will know ahead of time when your tenant has been chosen by a posted message in your Microsoft365 Admin Center Messages 7 days beforehand and a post to the Service Health Dashboard notifications.

To prepare for this change check the Azure Active Directory Sign-In logs per New tools to block legacy authentication in your organization – Microsoft Tech Community which will help track down any clients still using Basic Authentication and allow you to update your clients as appropriate. After the change to your tenant any client using Basic Authentication for an affected protocol will be unable to connect and will receive an HTTP 401 error: bad username or password error.

If you don’t have any Basic Authentication sign-ins then there is nothing you need to do.

Microsoft does recognize you may not be ready to turn off Basic Authentication and there is a Self-Service Re-Enablement process outlined. Note: that this is a one time re-enablement of Basic Authentication which will last until the end of December 2022 only and during the first few weeks of 2023 any re-enabled protocols will be disabled again permanently.

For more information check out the following Deprecation of Basic authentication in Exchange Online in Microsoft Docs.

#Microsoft365 #ExchangeOnline #BasicAuthentication #ModernAuthentication #MicrosoftCloudSecurity #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix

Aug 26, 2022 – New Podcast Available

In this episode Ryan McKay and Andrew Lowes discuss the retirement of the Classis Exchange Online Admin Center, advise where its features can be now be found in other spots in M365, and share fond memories of the Classic Exchange Online Admin Center!

URLs shown in today’s video podcast include:

Deprecation of the classic Exchange admin center

What’s new in the Exchange admin center in Exchange Online

#Microsoft #Microsoft365 #ExchangeOnline #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix

Reminder – Exchange Server 2013 End of Support April 2023

Today’s #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix is that Exchange Server 2013 is reaching end of support in a little over 7 months from now. After April 11, 2023, #Microsoft will now longer provide technical support for problems that may occur, bug fixes for new issues that are discovered, security fixes for vulnerabilities that are discovered, and time zone updates.

Upgrade to Exchange Server 2019 – See the following page on Microsoft Docs for Exchange Server system requirements and/or

Migrate to Exchange Online – See Decide on a migration path in Exchange Online on Microsoft Docs

In either case I highly recommend using the Exchange Deployment Assistant which is a web-based tool that asks you about your current Exchange environment and generates a custom step-by-step checklist that will help you.

Note: It is a supported coexistence scenario for Exchange 2019 and Exchange 2013 provided all your Exchange 2013 servers in your organization are patched to Exchange Server Cumulative Update 21 (CU21 – released June 2018) or higher. See Exchange Server build numbers and release dates

#Microsoft #Microsoft365 #ExchangeOnline #MicrosoftExchange #MicrosoftCloudQuickFix