Microsoft is introducing a number of new features in Outlook to help users identify phishing emails more quickly.

Microsoft’s latest Outlook update includes a number of new features to help users identify and combat spam more quickly. These new features display sender email addresses more quickly, notify users when they click a link, and help report and block unwanted senders. The Outlook update is available on the web, desktop and mobile versions of Outlook.

Faster detection

The first reflex when analyzing a suspicious email is to check the sender’s email address. There are often strange characters or combinations that indicate a fraudulent sender. To make this process even faster, Outlook adds the sender’s email address next to the name in your list of received emails. This allows users to verify the sender before opening the email.

If you see an email from a suspicious sender in your Junk Email folder, you will receive a warning message when you click a link in the email.

Report and block

Previously, email addresses of suspicious emails marked as spam were not automatically blocked, allowing the sender to continue sending you malicious emails. With the new update this is now different: you have the option to mark an email as spam or phishing and can immediately block the sender or unsubscribe so that you can no longer receive emails from that sender.

Additionally, users will receive an unverified sender notification in the reading area and mailing list to alert users that the sender may be a fake sender.

The new Outlook updates are being rolled out gradually to all Outlook on the web and New Outlook for Windows users, as well as to Outlook for iOS, Outlook for Android, and New Outlook for Mac users.