Microsoft Exchange® 2019: Important Information on Windows Extended Protection

On 04/24/2024, IONOS activated Windows Extended Protection on the servers on which the product Microsoft Exchange 2019 is hosted. This update enhances security for our Microsoft Exchange customers by improving existing authentication protocols and mitigating authentication relay or man-in-the-middle attacks.

The update has been extensively tested for functionality prior to installation and should not cause any issues for most customers. Please note that it is not possible to test all technically possible configurations. For this reason, connectivity problems may occur in individual cases.

According to previous reports, third-party antivirus software can cause connectivity problems. This includes antivirus software such as Kaspersky or Bitdefender.

The most common solution to this problem is to add an exception for the following servers in your antivirus programme.

Germany, France, Spain, United Kingdom:

exchange2019.ionos.eu

USA:

exchange2019.ionos.com

You can find more information on the following pages of the providers Kaspersky and Bitdefender:

Kaspersky:How to access blocked websites

Bitdefender:How to prevent Bitdefender Internet Protection from blocking a secure website

In the Bitdefender article mentioned above, you will find relevant information in the following sections:

• How to add a website to the exceptions - on Windows
• How to add a website to the exceptions - on macOS

If you are using a different antivirus software and you have connectivity problems after activating Windows Extended Protection, please refer to the user manual of your antivirus software. There you will learn how to add the above-mentioned servers to the exceptions in order to resolve these connectivity problems. Simply look for instructions on how to add a website to the exceptions.

If this measure does not solve the problem, IONOS customer service will be happy to assist you.