18.10.76.1.3 Ensure 'Notify Unsafe App' is set to 'Enabled'

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Information

This policy setting determines whether Enhanced Phishing Protection in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen warns users if they type their work or school passwords in Notepad, WordPad, or M365 Office apps like OneNote, Word, Excel, etc.

The recommended state for this setting is: Enabled.

Note: This setting only applies to Microsoft Accounts (computer or browser login) while using Microsoft Windows 11 and not on prem domain-joined accounts.

Rationale:

Users will be warned if they store their password in Notepad or Microsoft 365 Office Apps. This can help reduce the risk of security incidents, such as data theft or data loss. Storing credentials in plain text allows for anyone who has authorized or unauthorized access to the system to obtain them.

Impact:

Saved passwords may be detected as false positives by Microsoft.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to Enabled:

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Defender SmartScreen\Enhanced Phishing Protection\Notify Unsafe App

Note: This Group Policy path may not exist by default. It is provided by the Group Policy template WebThreatDefense.admx/adml that is included with the Microsoft Windows 11 Release 22H2 Administrative Templates (or newer).

Default Value:

Disabled. (Users will not be warned if they store their password in Notepad, WordPad, or M365 Office apps like OneNote, Word, Excel, etc.)

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/13165