November 27, 2023 at 04:02PM
Microsoft is deprecating Defender Application Guard for Office and Windows Security Isolation APIs. They recommend using Defender for Endpoint attack surface reduction rules, Protected View, and Windows Defender Application Control as alternatives. Application Guard for Office is a security feature that restricts files downloaded from untrusted sources, protecting against malware infections.
Meeting Notes Summary:
During the meeting, it was discussed that Microsoft is deprecating Defender Application Guard for Office and the Windows Security Isolation APIs. They recommend using Defender for Endpoint attack surface reduction rules, Protected View, and Windows Defender Application Control as alternatives.
Application Guard for Office is a security feature designed for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in Microsoft 365 Apps. It primarily aims to prevent potential threats by restricting files downloaded from untrusted sources, opening them in a secure sandbox, and limiting access to trusted resources on the user’s device.
Microsoft has announced that they are deprecating Microsoft Defender Application Guard for Office and the associated Windows.Security.Isolation APIs. They suggest transitioning to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint attack surface reduction rules, Protected View, and Windows Defender Application Control.
Application Guard for Office was initially introduced to Microsoft 365 customers with supported licenses two years ago. It was initially available to organizations with Microsoft 365 E5 or Microsoft 365 E5 Security licenses.
In addition to this announcement, Microsoft also mentioned other deprecations, including VBScript in future Windows releases, WordPad after 28 years, and the phasing out of insecure TLS 1.0 and 1.1 protocols. However, the deprecation of Client Access Rules (CARs) in Exchange Online has been delayed by one year until September 2024.
It is worth noting that five years ago, Microsoft had planned to deprecate and remove the classic Windows Paint app, but due to popular demand, it was made available through the Microsoft Store instead.