How is Microsoft securing Outlook this year?
Microsoft has announced that it is retiring Basic Auth in favor of Modern Auth in Outlook on September 16, 2024. This means that users will no longer be able to sign in to their accounts using only their username and passwords, which should further improve security. Email clients which do not leverage Modern Auth will not be able to access the Outlook service. To ensure that you face no interruptions following this September deadline, download any of the official Outlook apps, leverage the one included in Microsoft 365, or utilize Outlook 2021 or above if you have an LTSC license for Office.
What about other versions of Outlook?
Microsoft has boasted that it has millions of customers who use the new Outlook for Windows app, and that the majority of Windows Mail and Calendar customers have migrated over to this version too. As such, Microsoft has decided to sunset its legacy apps this year, and they will not be available or supported through the Microsoft Store past 2024. Customers have been encouraged to switch over to the new Outlook for Windows as soon as possible; it offers Modern Auth, Copilot integration, rich message editing, and more.
Importantly, the Redmond tech firm is getting rid of the light Outlook version it offers on the web for older browsers too. This retirement will take effect on August 19, 2024, and it will be mandatory to use at least Edge 79, Chrome 79, Firefox 78, Safari 16, or Opera 76 in order to access Outlook on the web.
That’s not all though. People who use Gmail in Outlook on the web via the left pane will be required to use Outlook for Windows or Mac in order to perform the same functionality after June 30, 2024. Similarly, all services that are dependent upon Cortana will run out of support at the same time, which is arguably a bit overdue considering the voice assistant has been mostly dead for over a year.
