Microsoft Corp. today rolled out changes to its OneDrive cloud storage service and Office 365 aimed at providing users better protection from cybercrime.

The changes are headlined by a new file recovery capability that allows customers to recover files going back as far as 30 days in the event of a ransomware attack.

Although the feature may sound simple, it comes bundled with new security tools that can detect ransomware attacks and guide users through a recovery process. They pinpoint the time and date of the attack and restore OneDrive and Office 365 files to their state prior to the attack.

Additional protection is also being added in relation to sharing and reading files emailed via Outlook.com and shared on OneDrive, including new encryption options. Office365 has previously offered the option, under the changes, but now Outlook.com users will be able to apply encryption on email to non-Microsoft users, such as allowing mail recipients to receive a onetime passcode to access an encrypted Outlook email.

The password requirement has now also been extended, with an additional security option for links shared from OneDrive. Users now can set and require a password to access a shared file or folder. “This prevents others from accessing your files if your intended recipient accidentally forwards or shares the link,” Microsoft said in a blog post today.

In an interesting change given its potential to restrict well-established practices, Outlook.com users now can limit email recipients from forwarding or copying emails sent to them from Outlook.com. To double down on file protection, Microsoft Office documents users attach in emails now can be encrypted, meaning that if the document is forwarded, it can’t be read.

Finally, the software giant is providing link protection in Office files. With the changes, links in Word, Excel and PowerPoint will now be screened in real time to determine if the destination website contains malicious material. The link will be blocked should a match be made.

“With the growing presence and sophistication of online threats like viruses, ransomware and phishing scams, it’s increasingly important to have the right protection and tools to help protect your devices, personal information and files from being compromised,” said Kirk Koenigsbauer, corporate vice president for Office.

Photo: liewcf/Flickr