topic Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication in Email and hosting

Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

VickyK — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 11:01:19 GMT

What’s changed?

Basic authentication capability has been removed by Microsoft, our email supplier, and many others in the email industry.

Why are these changes happening?

Basic Authentication makes it easier for attackers to capture user credentials which can put users at risk.

It’s an outdated industry standard, and the threats posed by it continue to increase.

Microsoft’s decision means that customers will likely move from apps that use Basic Authentication to apps that use Modern Authentication to make their accounts more secure.

What does this mean for me?

This changes the way you’ll be able to access your emails. If you use a Mail Client like Outlook, Thunderbird or MacMail etc, this means you’ll no longer be able to send or receive emails this way.

You can still access your emails via a browser on a laptop, Mac or PC or via the Outlook App on tablets and mobiles.

What does browser based access mean ?

Outlook Web Access is a fantastic, easy and agile way to access email. It;

Works from any (connected) PC or mobile device anywhere - never be without access to your mailbox again.
Contains the most common and up to date mail client features – with the improved security of modern authentication.
Looks and feels just like a mail client.
Has easy to use junk filtering (block/whitelist senders and domains).
Contains customisable themes to suit your style and mood.
Even allows you to;

create sub folders
save contacts
add to calendars
create and use email signatures
setup mail forwarding
create user groups
activate out of office auto replies

Not to mention signing in is really simple, and many common devices will remember your login details and sign in for you.

You can access your email at www.office.com or via business.bt.com if you prefer.

Here are some relevant links which may help:

How do I move my mailbox from BT Business to another provider? | BT Business

How to download & backup emails from Outlook | BT Business

Setting up Office 365 Business Essentials with a new domain | BT Business

^VickyK

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

Martyn1 — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 20:24:41 GMT

Vicky,

Thanks for this I was unaware of the impending doom it will cause.. We have business lite and using 18 of the emails for our theatre, to help me to help the end users, when you say Microsoft App on mobile devices which one, as on the App Store there are a great many.... Microsoft Outlook? ..... This is just for the receiving and sending of emails. I tried forwarding using the admin console to another email, but alas looks like that option is also deprecated. I don't think that we as a small charity will be able to afford the full fat 365 online thingy. Looks like having to have a browser window open all the time to monitor ones email.

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

kelper — Fri, 13 Jan 2023 07:07:11 GMT

You could move to Gmail.

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

RM-CL — Sun, 29 Jan 2023 13:08:18 GMT

Hi Vicky,

I too have just been caught out with my BT Business Lite domain emails stopping working with my Outlook 365 (home edition). BT have advised me to use BT email web access as you suggest, but neither the Primary User, or any of the three domain email addresses will open in this way. It just shows a red banner saying I am not logged in. I have been advised by BT this would be sorted, but nothing happens. I would be happy to just use web access moving forward, but I currently have no way to access these emails, which is becoming critical for work. I have looked at my login to view where the emails in Business Lit are setup and it says they are active, so I am certain it is not a subscription issue. Thank you for any advice.

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

RM-CL — Sun, 29 Jan 2023 17:32:23 GMT

As a follow on, I now have access on the web app, but linking back into my Outlook as before would be useful. Thank you.

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

mchuta1 — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 21:26:22 GMT

This does not solve the fundamental problems that I and many others now face.

I want to save incoming messages on my PC and private archive, then delete them from the ISP server, as I have done for years. I need a PC based mail handler to replace "Outlook for Windows".

Please advise what product to use.

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

peteramadeus — Sat, 04 Feb 2023 20:08:07 GMT

Hello Vicky

i am yet another victim of losing the option of using Microsoft outlook handled thru Bt business lite …after being informed by Bt that they could supply a solution to resolve this for £160 which I agreed to then be informed Bt could not supply the solution until June & my only option was to attempt the migration myself by Bt supplying a word document to allow me to do this & if I got stuck there is a phone number on the document to ring for assistance…having no option I attempted this & after deactivation of our emails got stuck so I phoned the number supplied to be told Bt cannot help as they have not been trained on the migration service …so I am now in a position whereby I cannot even see my business emails by any browser …Bt has paralysed by business !

Im sorry Vicky you are receiving the brunt of these messages, but surely to god there must be a better solution than what’s being offered at present ..

hoping & praying there is ?

rgds

peter

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

Bobinyak — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 10:55:26 GMT

Hi,

I have the same issues regarding local emails and now can only use web mail. understand pop3 issue and things moving forward etc, but, i understand outlook 2013 can be configuered to use the new more secure login process and posted by microsoft, as below link

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/security-and-compliance/enable-modern-authentication?view=o365-worldwide

i tryed this and still unable to download emails as required, it seems bt servers are not configured to communicate with the patched outlook.

Please can Vicky or someone from bt provide the details for the patched/updated outlook to work. the bt sites still giving out instructions for pop3 even when not in use anymore?

Thanks

Rob

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

JHughes — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 08:30:52 GMT

Yet another user caught out by this! Moved to Outlook PWA as a temporary measure, but BT Business Email Lite only gives 1 GB of storage. This was fine when emails downloaded from the server to "old" outlook. But after less than a week we are close to maxing out our storage. Like others, we've been told BT can move our mail box to their new platform, at a charge of £149 but there is a backlog until June. This will give 50gb of storage, but BT couldn't say if this could be further increased. Have resorted to getting an IT company to sort it for us and will be dropping BT like a hot rock.

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

MarkMarkMark — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 13:59:33 GMT

Also caught out by this change this week. I have the 'Business Email Lite' product from BT. I understand the need to move from POP to more modern email protocols. I used Apple Mail, but I suppose Outlook Web Access is ok.

BUT there is one big difference in the way storage is used. Under POP, emails download and are stored within your local email client. Under Outlook Web Access, all emails remain in the cloud and occupy storage. 'Business Email Lite' provides just 1GB of email storage space, which quickly fills up, particularly with the Sent folder populating with years of historic emails with attachments. And -- as I understand it -- Business Email Lite can't now be used with the Outlook email client (on Mac or Windows) and there is a long waiting list at BT (!) to upgrade (at a price) to a bigger Email service.

I know BT claim this change is Microsoft's decision, but I don't pay Microsoft for my email service, I pay BT. And it seems to me that BT's 'Business Email Lite' product is now not fit for purpose because it has materially less capacity than it had before, in turn because I can't now download emails from the server. So, BT, why not at least increase the storage offered to your customers to restore your 'Business Email Lite' product to the state it was in when we purchased it?

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

kelper — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 14:07:23 GMT

can you buy more storage?

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

yvonnewilding — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 09:31:04 GMT

How do I find my profiles on the desk top in order to restore them ???

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

DPercival61 — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 10:57:33 GMT

Hi Vicky,

I'm not impressed. I've wanted BT to support newer protocols and security (e.g. IMAP etc.) for decades. However, not at the expense of ditching Outlook.

The only reason I stuck with BT was because my btconnect email address was used by so many people. For reasons beyond the scope of this chat I can't always work with web browser or phone apps for email so forcing me to use those is not an option.

Unless you can update the security to allow Outlook or other clients to work (I don't care if I have to switch to IMAP) then there's no point in staying with a btconnect email address. If there's no point in staying with the email address then there's little point in staying with BT.

In other words, when this goes ahead unless there is a method of continuing to use Outlook on a PC (not a web based client) I will be forced to transfer all the emails to a different email address and will then leave BT (I can get better deals elsewhere).

Given the horrendous issues I've had with BT in the past this is the last straw...

Regards

Derek

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

MrG — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 13:11:29 GMT

Hi Martyn, from using MS365 products myself, if you are a charity you can contact MS direct via their website and they will provide you 25 Free Non-Profit Standard (sometimes Premium) licences as long as you can provide a charity number. Takes about a week for MS to verify and provide an admin login to your newly provided account/licences. Nonprofit offers (microsoft.com)

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

mike_coreit — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 17:18:41 GMT

I'm sure it's just a simple setting BT have to choose to allow IMAP or Exchange, even with the Modern Authentication requirements, can someone from BT explain the reasoning why this is not technically possible?

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

was — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 15:21:55 GMT

Couldn't agree more. This is absolutely essential for, I suspect, a significant number of UK businesses as changing email addresses used by a large number of customers is by no means a trivial exercise!

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

jasee2 — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 07:54:01 GMT

Bt Exchange Servers just need to support outh2, which is supported by Thunderbird. Google gmail servers also support outh2 so I've smoothly moved from pop3 to outh2 for gmail

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

jasee2 — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 07:57:06 GMT

Ms's original email

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/exchange-2013-end-of-support?view=o365-worldwide

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

jasee2 — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 08:33:13 GMT

This may be relevant

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/exchange-team-blog/throttling-and-blocking-email-from-persistently-vulnerable/ba-p/3762078?WT.mc_id=M365-MVP-9501

Re: Microsoft’s Changes to applications using Basic Authentication

jasee2 — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 08:54:48 GMT

Can't help with your problem, I'm afraid, small business customers are all in the same boat.

It's possible that BT just didn't want to invest in 'new' mail servers (as Microsoft suggest) going from Exchange 2013 to Exchange 2019 first and then use Exchange 2019 to move mailboxes to Microsoft 365