Installing PhishNotify for Outlook (32-bit or 64-bit MSI)

emma.waite.1 · July 17, 2023, 6:28pm

Introduction

Note: The MSI version of PhishNotify is considered a legacy add-on and is recommended only for use in older environments or mail clients. It is strongly recommended to use the PhishNotify XML add-on whenever possible.

PhishNotify is a powerful tool to help keep your organization safe from malicious emails. The add-on allows users to seamlessly report suspicious emails to administrators for further review.

The Infosec IQ Quarantine works in conjunction with the PhishNotify plugin. When a learner reports a suspicious email that isn’t a PhishSim email sent by Infosec IQ, the email is placed in the Quarantine. The email and associated attachments will be kept in the Quarantine for 14 days.

Note that the MSI version of PhishNotify can only report emails from a user’s inbox and cannot report emails from a shared mailbox.

System Requirements

Systems must meet the following requirements to install and use PhishNotify:

Windows 7 or newer
32-bit or 64-bit version of Outlook 2013, 2016, or 2019
.NET version 4.8 or newer
Open Port 443 TCP (SSL/HTTPS) workstations so the plugin can communicate with Infosec IQ servers
Administrative rights to install software on the workstation

PhishNotify License Key and Installation Media

You can find the installation media and license key for the PhishNotify plugin by following the steps below:

Navigate to the PhishSim > Phish Notify from the menu bar.
Locate the PhishNotify section and select the download option for the PhishNotify Outlook Client version needed.

Note: The bit version of the plugin must match the bit version of your outlook client

Registry Edits for Outlook Plugin

In certain situations, Outlook may disable the PhishNotify plugin. Making the following edits to the Windows registry can prevent Outlook from doing this:

Office 2013

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Resiliency\DoNotDisableAddinList

Office 2016/2019

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Resiliency\DoNotDisableAddinList

Key Value

"SecurityIQPhishNotify" = "1"

For more about keeping Outlook add-ins available please see this Microsoft article:
Support for keeping add-ins enabled

For more about the Windows registry, please see this Microsoft article:
Windows registry information for advanced users

Individual Installation for Outlook

Follow the steps below to install the PhishNotify plugin for Outlook (32- and 64-bit).

Download the appropriate Outlook installer.
- The bit version of the plugin must match the bit version of your outlook client
Run the downloaded installer (must run as an administrator).
Enter your License Key and click Next.
- License key can be found on PhishSim > PhishNotify
Click Finish to complete the installation process.
Restart Outlook and check the ribbon for the PhishNotify plugin.

Command Line Installation for Outlook

The plugin can be installed using the msiexec.exe installer, and this can be combined with Group Policy implementations to assist with a company-wide deployment of PhishNotify.

Run the following command in an administrative command prompt to install the PhishNotify plugin.

Note: <PhishNotify_installer_path> refers to the location at which you have saved the plugin installation media):

msiexec /quiet /i <PhishNotify_installer_path> LICENSE_CODE=<your license key>

Removing PhishNotify from Outlook

The plugin can be uninstalled either by using Windows Apps and Features menu (Add or Remove Programs) or by using the following msiexec command:

msiexec /x PhishNotify.msi

Click Yes on the resulting uninstall prompt to complete the removal process.

Group Policy Installation

Follow the steps below to install the PhishNotify plugin across your environment through the use of Windows Group Policy:

Start by deploying to one workstation within your organization.
Create a shared folder on your server (read only for Domain Computers). For example, “C:\deploy” shared to “\server\deploy”
Copy the PhishNotify installation media into this directory.
Make sure the domain computers have access to the shared folder.
Create a batch file called phishNotify.bat in the shared folder, which runs the following three lines of code:

copy “[LOCATION]” “[DESTINATION]”
msiexec /quiet /i “[DESTINATION]” LICENSE_CODE="[LICENSE KEY]"
del “[DESTINATION]”

[LOCATION] = Location on your server (w/ msi filename)
[DESTINATION] = Location to temporarily move msi file to client machine (w/ msi filename)
[LICENSE KEY] = Your unique license key retrieved from your Infosec IQ dashboard.
Open the Group Policy Management Console and create a new GPO under Computer Configuration > Startup Script.
Click the Add button.
Place the full path to the phishNotify.bat in the script name field (e.g., \server\deploy\phishNotify.bat) and click OK .
Close Group Policy Management Console.
Refresh group policy on the client by running gpupdate /force from the command prompt.
Verify the installation by opening Outlook and finding the PhishNotify plugin in the ribbon.

Uninstall via Group Policy

To uninstall PhishNotify via Group Policy, follow the same process of creating a GPO as explained in the section above, changing the second line of code in your .bat file to the following:

msiexec /quiet /x <PhishNotify_installer_path> LICENSE_CODE=<your license key>