The Hex Files
Email and Microsoft 365
Your mailbox, files and accounts in Microsoft's cloud, and how to keep them yours.
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Email and Microsoft 365
Your mailbox, files and accounts in Microsoft's cloud, and how to keep them yours.
- Explainer
Your computer is protected. Is your email?
Anyone with your login can use your Microsoft 365 account from their own computer, anywhere in the world.
1 min readRead - Checklist
Check your mailbox for rules you didn't create
Attackers who get into a mailbox often add hidden rules. Checking takes two minutes.
1 min readRead - Explainer
How to stop criminals sending email as your business
Three settings, SPF, DKIM and DMARC, tell the world which email really comes from your business. They also keep your mail out of spam folders.
1 min readRead - Explainer
Sharing files without sharing too much
OneDrive and SharePoint links can be open to anyone, to your whole company or to specific people. Picking the right one matters.
1 min readRead - Explainer
Why some emails are marked “External”
That little “External” label is one of the simplest protections there is. Here is what it means and why it helps.
1 min readRead - Explainer
Who really owns your Microsoft 365?
Your Microsoft 365 “tenant” holds every account, mailbox and file. Make sure your business, not a former employee or vendor, controls it.
1 min readRead - Explainer
Shared mailboxes beat shared passwords
Addresses like info@ or billing@ should be shared mailboxes that several people can open, not one account whose password everybody knows.
1 min readRead - Explainer
Before you turn on Copilot, check who can see what
Copilot can find anything a person already has access to. Old sharing mistakes suddenly become easy to discover.
1 min readRead - Explainer
What not to send by email, and what to use instead
Email is not a safe place for passwords, bank details or identity documents. Here are better options that take no longer.
1 min readRead - Explainer
Adding people from outside your company to Teams
Teams can include clients, contractors and partners. Knowing the difference between a guest and an external chat helps you share only what you mean to.
1 min readRead - What to do if
Get back an earlier version of a file
Overwrote a document, or someone changed it in a way you need to undo? OneDrive and SharePoint keep earlier versions you can open and restore.
1 min readRead - Explainer
How to give someone access to your mailbox the right way
An assistant, a colleague covering leave or a manager may need to read or send your email. There is a safe way to do it.
1 min readRead - Explainer
How to send a file that is too big for email
Email is not built for large attachments. A sharing link from OneDrive or SharePoint is faster, safer and easier to keep track of.
1 min readRead - Explainer
Sharing your calendar without oversharing
Calendar sharing lets colleagues find a time to meet. A few settings decide whether they see only free and busy times or every detail.
1 min readRead - Explainer
Teams or email: which should you use?
A simple rule of thumb for when a message belongs in Teams chat, a Teams channel or an email.
1 min readRead - Explainer
When and how to send an encrypted email
Ordinary email is fine for most things. For sensitive information, Microsoft 365 can encrypt a message so only the intended person can read it.
1 min readRead - Explainer
Why your emails end up in other people's junk folders
If customers keep finding your messages in junk, the cause is usually settings on your domain, the content of the message or how it was sent.
1 min readRead - Explainer
Why “recall this message” usually does not work
Outlook's recall button only works in narrow situations. Here is what it can and cannot do, and what to do instead.
1 min readRead - Explainer
What to put in an out-of-office reply
An automatic reply goes to everyone who emails you, including strangers and scammers. Keep it short and useful.
1 min readRead - Explainer
To, Cc, Bcc and Reply all: when to use each
Choosing the right address line keeps conversations clear and stops one email exposing a whole list of contacts.
1 min readRead - Explainer
Calendar invites can carry scams too
Invitations can appear on your calendar without you accepting them, carrying links to fake sign-in pages or scam offers.
1 min readRead - Explainer
What a Microsoft 365 group actually is
When someone creates a team in Teams, they create a Microsoft 365 group, which comes with a mailbox, calendar, file library and more.
1 min readRead - Explainer
Where deleted email goes, and for how long
Deleted email in Microsoft 365 usually passes through two stages before it is gone. You can often get it back yourself.
1 min readRead - Explainer
OneDrive or SharePoint: where should this file go?
OneDrive is for your own work files. SharePoint and Teams are for files the team shares. Getting it right avoids lost files when people leave.
1 min readRead - What to do if
What to do when your mailbox is full
When a mailbox reaches its limit, it stops sending and then stops receiving. Here is how to clear space and keep it clear.
1 min readRead
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