FAQs for Safeguard Send Core

What are the basic steps to try out Safeguard Send Core?

  1. Sign up for a subscription on Microsoft Azure Marketplace (search for “Sperry Software”).
  2. A default rule is created for you in this process.  The rule will cause a prompt to occur whenever you send an email outside your company.
  3. If you are using Safeguard Send Core (without customizations) then you receive the URL to a manifest file when you sign up.  Otherwise, if you are requesting customizations (i.e., purchasing Safeguard Send Core Plus), then you will receive the link to your customized manifest file in an email.
  4. Both Safeguard Send Core and Safeguard Send Core Plus require that an IT Admin install the add-in into Microsoft Admin Center, the IT Admin needs the manifest file and can then perform the installation following these step-by-step instructions.
  5. After installing, send an email to say, a Gmail or Yahoo address to see the warning prompt.

What is the difference between Safeguard Send Core and Safeguard Send Core Plus?

When you purchase Safeguard Send Core (SSC), it comes with a default rule to warn users when sending an email outside their company domain. However, if any customizations are requested, then that product becomes Safeguard Send Core Plus (SSCP). You can request
customizations by filling out either this Word document or this PDF form and follow the instructions contained there. You can also read this list of version differences for a more detailed breakdown.

What rules are available by default in SSC?

SSC implements only one hard-coded rule: Prompt the user when sending an email that has any recipient not having the same domain as the user. So, if your company has two or more different domains, you most likely want to get a custom version to be able to treat those
internal domains as part of the company.

What can be customized?

Many aspects of the add-in can be customized. As mentioned, additional domains can be added so that they are counted as internal. Changes to the wording of the titles and text (but not the button text) can be made and additional rules can also be implemented similar to our flagship product, Safeguard Send for Microsoft 365 can be made including creating a warning when users are going to use a reply-to-all.  See the list of version differences (and the customization request forms above) to learn what features are available.

If we request customizations, and more than one rule is enabled, how is that handled?

When a user sends an email the Safeguard Send Core Plus add-in evaluates all the rules. It then collects a list of the violations that have occurred, then displays a single prompt that lists each violation. For example, in this image three rules have been violated (warn when sending to more than 3 recipients, sending to a restricted domain (gmail.com in this case), and warn when sending any email to external recipients when that email has an attachment):

Image of prompt that has a title that says "Multiple Warnings" and has 3 different warnings displayed and then asks "Are you sure you want to continue"?

Note that this is unlike Safeguard Send for Microsoft 365, which evaluates each rule and shows the prompt only for that rule. Once a prompt is shown the user can decide whether to send the email or not.

Can Safeguard Send for Microsoft 365 and Safeguard Send Core (and Core Plus) be in trial at the same time?

Yes, as they run independently. Two warning prompts will appear if the same rules are implemented. Safeguard Send Core and Safeguard Send Core Plus cannot be in a trial at the same time, as they are the same product.

What happens if something goes wrong during processing of the email?

Safeguard Send Core and Safeguard Send Core Plus both use a Microsoft technology called Smart Alerts.  Smart Alerts are designed to be flexible when allowing emails to go out even in the face of errors by giving users a choice to send or not.  More details about what happens when the add-in is unavailable or if the add-in takes too long to process (and more) can be found in this Microsoft article describing Smart Alerts error handling.  As you read the article, know that by default Safeguard Send Core and Safeguard Send Core Plus use the promptUser mode.

How does the add-in work?  Does Sperry Software get access to the contents of the email, the recipients or the attachments?

No, we don’t send emails, recipients or attachments to our servers or anywhere. All processing takes place on the end user’s client Outlook (desktop or web).

So, regarding security, what data is held on your servers?

Unlike Safeguard Send for Microsoft 365 (which holds the email addresses of your end users), only the binary code of the add-in is kept on our servers. All other data remains in your tenant, as all evaluations and calculations are performed on the users’ machines. If this still
presents a problem, we have a solution for you called Safeguard Send Essentials.  Please contact us if your security requirements require a solution like this.

See Also:

Safeguard Send Core Overview