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Starting in 2019 sometime, Windows Outlook began showing the original URL on hovering over a link in an email message.
Before that, it had only shown the rewritten safelinks version, which is very difficult to read and not at all helpful to someone who's trying to check what's behind that link's display text.
This was a vast improvement, and these days it is essential to be able to quckly check links if people are to have a chance of avoiding phishing traps.
It's particularly important for those users (probably the majority) who wouldn't understand the safelinks URL, and might well assume it's safe because it's a microsoft.com link.
Sadly, though, some time within the last few months my Outlook 365 has reverted to showing the unreadable safelinks URL in both the hover popup and the status bar at the bottom of the Outlook window. I currently have Windows Outlook Version 2404 Build 16.0.17531.20152 Click-to-run.
The safelinks service is good, but there will always be malicious links that get past it, and people need to be able to decide whether or not to click on a link by seeing the actual URL it would go to, not simply assume that safelinks will take care of it.
Has anyone else noticed this?
Using classic Outlook for Windows in business environments
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
I'm hoping this is just a bug and will get fixed quickly! To avoid phishing traps, we've been teaching our users for years to hover over a link to check before clicking.
If this is a permanent change, then obviously Microsoft has taken a few steps backwards when it comes to taking security seriously.
I am not sure if the term "step backward" is appropriate. I think, there whole development of Outlook NEW is some guerila war between oldtimers with screwed up unfriendly (but after 20 years full of crazy bugs quite usable) Classic Outlook, and newtimers but without qualified and experienced developers resources. New Outlook looks like beginners students work, without detailed UI and features planning. Probably MS management relocated developers to other projects and now some unhappy solitude maintainer have no resources to improve it. If I am not correct - where are information about development? Where are the release notes? Why some absolute basic features - (for example download location selection) are still missing? Crazy stupid work! And as we hear rumors about zero AI features support for Old Outlook we absolutely don't understand MS strategy in this product plans.
This is horrible for security. Restore hover to see links immediately.
I agree, this is dangerous in terms of end users being unable to see the actual URL that they will be visiting when they click on a link within an email.
Microsoft need to get this sorted asap. Can we have a response from a Microsoft staff member on this please?
Give Feed back with Feedback Hub. We need to get this changed!! This is a slap in the face of security, which seems to be the direction MS has gone since drinking the AI coolaid