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Microsoft Defender is flagging legitimate URLs as malicious

Microsoft Defender, the free anti-malware software that comes inbuilt into Windows, has been falsely flagging URLs as malicious.

user icon Daniel Croft
Thu, 30 Mar 2023
Microsoft Defender is flagging legitimate URLs as malicious
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The company announced on Twitter that it was aware of the bug and that an investigation is underway into the cause.

Microsoft has urged that despite the false positive alerts, users are still able to access legitimate links flagged as malicious.

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At this stage, Microsoft is still investigating the issue and has said it is “reviewing diagnostics such as network telemetry data to verify the root cause and identify a path to resolution”.

The tech giant warned that tech admins would likely see an increased number of high-severity alert emails that warn of a potentially malicious URL was clicked.

Since the issue arose yesterday, some customers have received dozens of alert emails warning of malicious URLs, according to BleepingComputer.

Responding to Microsoft’s tweet, a number of users and admins have expressed issues caused by the bug, such as an increased number of quarantined emails and being inundated with alerts.

Daniel Croft

Daniel Croft

Born in the heart of Western Sydney, Daniel Croft is a passionate journalist with an understanding for and experience writing in the technology space. Having studied at Macquarie University, he joined Momentum Media in 2022, writing across a number of publications including Australian Aviation, Cyber Security Connect and Defence Connect. Outside of writing, Daniel has a keen interest in music, and spends his time playing in bands around Sydney.

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