Legacy Authentication

Login security improvement will affect older email/calendar apps that use basic authentication or legacy authentication methods.

Information Technology (IT) has almost completed phasing out support for Basic Authentication or legacy applications, an older, less secure way of accessing Office 365 services.  When this change takes effect, some email and calendar clients and mobile apps will stop working with Office 365. 

We will roll this change out gradually, starting with students who have not taken courses within the last year that have not graduated.  We expect to have the transition completed for all affected users by the end of the fall semester.

 To find out if this change will affect you and what you need to do, see Next Steps below.

Background

Historically, Microsoft has supported many ways of accessing email and calendar.  The best is Outlook, Microsoft Outlook for mobile devices, and Outlook on the Web. These include the built-in Mail and Calendar apps that come with MacOS, iOS, and Android, as well as older desktop applications like Eudora, Pine, and Thunderbird.  Many of these older applications use Basic Authentication, a login method that does not support two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA).

With cyber-attacks becoming not only more common but also more sophisticated, Microsoft has decided to phase out Basic Authentication.  This is a good thing because it will make it harder for hackers and scammers to access an account with a stolen password. Microsoft will make the change in 2021; however, we believe it is in the University’s best interest to make the change sooner.

We originally wanted to switch earlier, but to accommodate the recent transition to online instruction and remote work, we postponed that change. Now that the fall 2020 semester is approaching it is time to move forward.

Next Steps

We will roll this change out gradually, starting with students who have not taken courses within the last year that have not graduated.  We expect to have the transition completed for all affected users by the end of the summer 2021 semester.

If you have more than one way of checking your EKU email and calendar, you may need to take different steps for each device or application that you use.

Outlook

NOTE: EKU IT\IT GEEKS will only support configuration of Outlook apps/software.

Outlook on the Web

If you use a web browser to check your mail/calendar at mymail.eku.edu then you do not need to do anything.  Outlook on the Web already uses Microsoft’s secure login.

Outlook for PC and Mac

Depending on which version of Outlook you are using, you may need to upgrade.

• Outlook 2016 or newer: No action needed
• Outlook 2013, 2010, 2008, or 2007: You will need to upgrade to the latest version of Office 365

https://it.eku.edu/support/students-microsoft-office-365-pro-plus

Microsoft Outlook Mobile Apps

The Microsoft Outlook mobile apps for iOS and Android are fully compatible with Microsoft’s secure login requirement.  If you are using Microsoft Outlook on a mobile device, no action is needed.

Other Mail and Calendar Application

Mac Mail and Calendar

• Mac OS 10.14 (Mojave) and newer: The Mail and Calendar apps that come with Mac OS 10.14 (Mojave) and Mac 10.15 (Catalina) will continue to work.  Depending on how you originally set up your Mac, you may need to delete and re-add your email/calendar account profile to avoid service interruption.

• Mac OS 10.13 and older: The built-in Mail and Calendar apps that came with Mac 10.13 or older will not work.  To continue using those apps, you will need to upgrade your Mac OS, or you can switch to using Outlook for Mac or Outlook on the Web.

IMAP/POP Applications like Thunderbird, Eudora, PINE, etc.

Email applications that use Basic Authentication in combination with POP, IMAP, or Exchange ActiveSync will stop working.  Examples include Thunderbird, Eudora, and PINE.  It would help if you moved to a supported application ASAP.

Other client applications that do not use modern authentication protocols (not a comprehensive list):

• Android Touchdown
• Android BlueMail
• Most IMAP4 or POP3 clients
• Exchange Online PowerShell module

NOTE: Many POP clients delete messages from the server once they have been downloaded to your computer.  To avoid losing saved messages, make sure you have backed up your locally stored messages before uninstalling your old email client.

iOS Mail and Calendar Mobile Apps (Remove old EKU Email Account from iPhone PDF)

iOS 10 and older: We recommend switching to the Microsoft Outlook for iOS app available on the app store. The built-in Mail and Calendar apps for iOS 10 and older will not work.  https://it.eku.edu/support/students-microsoft-office-365-pro-plus

Android Mail and Calendar Mobile Apps  (Remove old EKU Email Account from Android PDF)

Android does not support Microsoft’s new method for logging in.  To avoid service disruption, you need to install Outlook for Android.https://it.eku.edu/support/students-microsoft-office-365-pro-plus

Basic/Legacy Authentication FAQ

1. What does “legacy authentication” mean?
   “Legacy authentication” is a term Microsoft uses to describe an application that uses an older method of authentication (or basic authentication without 2FA/MFA) when used with its cloud-based services.  That means when you log in using a legacy or basic authentication, the login process cannot be protected by newer security technologies such as 2FA/MFA.  This is in contrast with the term “modern authentication” which provides more security and capabilities.

2. What applications work with Office 365?
   These applications have been tested and are known to work:

3. What applications do not work with Office 365?
   The applications listed below have been identified as “legacy” applications and will no longer work. This not an exhaustive list: