ExchangeDefender Phishing Firewall is Live! | ExchangeDefender              [ Skip to content ](#main)  [ ![ExchangeDefender](/assets/images/xd_logo_blue.png) ](/)   Email Security     ![Platform Overview](/assets/images/m-xd-pro.png)### ExchangeDefender PRO

Enterprise-grade email security made simple for every business.

 [Sign Up](/sign-up) [Live Demo](/demo) 

 [Email Security

Stops spam, malware &amp; phishing in real time.

 ](/email-security) [Encryption

Secure your emails, attachments &amp; sensitive data.

 ](/corporate-email-encryption) [Web File Sharing

Easy, safe cloud file sharing with access control.

 ](/web-file-server) [Live Archive

Locked-in email backup &amp; continuity during outages.

 ](/livearchive-backup) [Emergency Inbox

Keep email flowing without interruption if your provider fails.

 ](/inbox) [Spearphish

Train your team with phishing simulations &amp; risk tracking.

 ](/spearphishing) 

  Managed Email    ### Enterprise-Grade Managed Email

Reliable, secure, and fully managed email operations for modern organizations.

 ![ExchangeDefender](/assets/images/managed_email_menu.png) 

 [Microsoft365/Google Email Management

Expert management and security for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace email.

 ](/managed-email-operations) [AI Advisory

Secure, practical AI consulting &amp; implementation for SMBs.

 ](/management-ai) 

  Company    ### ExchangeDefender: 29+ Years of Trust

We are a cybersecurity company focused on business email protection, with 29+ years of experience keeping organizations secure, connected, and resilient.

 ![ExchangeDefender](/assets/images/careers_1.png) 

 [ About Us

Learn our purpose, values, and the mission behind every decision.

 ](/about-us) [ Blog

News, product updates and email security insights.

 ](/blog) [ Capabilities

Discover the tech and expertise that keep your email secure around the clock

 ](/capabilities) [ Careers

Be part of a team using modern tech to solve real threats and ship great work.

 ](/careers) 

 [Partners](/partners) [Docs](/docs) [Contact Us](/contact)  Talk to a Human 

  Open menu     

 Menu
----

   Email Security     [Email Security](/email-security) [Encryption](/corporate-email-encryption) [Web File Sharing](/web-file-server) [Live Archive](/livearchive-backup) [Inbox](/inbox) [Spearphish](/spearphishing) 

    Managed Email     [Microsoft365/Google Email Management](/managed-email-operations) [AI Advisory](/management-ai) 

    Company     [About Us](/about-us) [Blog](/blog) [Capabilities](/capabilities) [Careers](/careers) 

  [Partners](/partners) [Docs](/docs) [Contact Us](/contact) Talk to a Human 

   March 3, 2023 · [General](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=uncategorized)

ExchangeDefender Phishing Firewall is Live!
===========================================

[![](https://storage.services.exchangedefender.network/exchangedefender-blog/blog/2023/03/Admin-Portal-announcement-22-23-3.jpg)](https://storage.services.exchangedefender.network/exchangedefender-blog/blog/2023/03/Admin-Portal-announcement-22-23-3.jpg)

**[As mentioned previously](https://www.exchangedefender.com/blog/2023/02/exchangedefender-phishing-firewall-update/)** our new ExchangeDefender Phishing Firewall went live in production at noon EST today (March 3rd, 2023) and is already rewriting URLs unique to service provider that manages the domain.

### A little bit about the technology

URL / link rewriting is an industry standard used by biggest email providers to rewrite potentially dangerous URLs. When the user clicks on the link they are redirected to a Phishing Firewall site instead of the direct web site address that was in the email. The phishing firewall looks at all the domain policies, allow/block lists, exceptions, and determines if the user should be allowed to proceed to the web site.

When the messages arrive into your organization, instead of **[https://www.yahoo.com](https://www.yahoo.com)** the URL is rewritten to something like **[https://exchangedefender](https://exchangedefender)**.**xdref.com/url=hash**. These masked URLs are only visible to our clients, when they reply to an email the outbound network reverses the process. Outbound network replaces \*\*[https://exchangedefender.xdref.com/url=hash\*\*with](https://exchangedefender.xdref.com/url=hash**with) the original URL.

This technology eliminates the possibility that a random hacker can deliver a payload that is one click away from the user. Additionally, it gives the user the ability to check the site reputation, check for viruses, and clearly see the URL they are going (instead of a squashed little tooltip with a 200+ character URL). Essentially, we study how people get hacked with phishing and try to eliminate those issues.

All the sites and services are fully encrypted and partners/clients do not need to worry about certificate renewals, site mappings, etc - everything is automatic and done for you. Set it and forget it just keep an eye on the logs.

Going Forward
-------------

As of March 3rd, 2023 all the URLs will be rewritten using service providers id. Main benefit of this upgrade is that it reduces the scope and likelihood that the URL gets inadvertently reported or picked up by another security service that may deem [xdref.com](http://xdref.com/) to be a masking site for dangerous content.

Additionally, you can configure your firewall to only accept unapproved URLs after a hop through &lt;**yourspid**&gt;.[xdref.com](http://xdref.com/). It also gives you full visibility into everything that happens with the URL, who clicks on it, where they go, etc which is something we do for our clients to address cybersecurity compromise and trace back how it happened (very lucrative service for partners that may be interested in deploying that level of protection.

  [  Previous post ExchangeDefender Phishing Firewall Update February 28, 2023  ](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2023/02/exchangedefender-phishing-firewall-update) [  Next post How to access ExchangeDefender Raw Email Logs March 8, 2023  ](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2023/03/how-to-access-exchangedefender-raw-email-logs)  Related Posts
-------------

  [   1 May  ](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2026/05/exchangedefender-new-ui-is-live)###  [ExchangeDefender New UI is Live](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2026/05/exchangedefender-new-ui-is-live) 

 [Read more: ExchangeDefender New UI is Live](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2026/05/exchangedefender-new-ui-is-live) 

   [ ![](https://storage.services.exchangedefender.network/exchangedefender-blog/blog/2025/12/christmas-1.jpg)  25 Dec  ](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2025/12/merry-christmas)###  [Merry Christmas](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2025/12/merry-christmas) 

 [Read more: Merry Christmas](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2025/12/merry-christmas) 

   [ ![](https://storage.services.exchangedefender.network/exchangedefender-blog/blog/2025/11/Website-Screenshots-2025-4.jpg)  4 Nov  ](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2025/11/why-iot-devices-are-a-hidden-security-risk-for-your-business)###  [Why IoT Devices Are a Hidden Security Risk for Your Business](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2025/11/why-iot-devices-are-a-hidden-security-risk-for-your-business) 

 [Read more: Why IoT Devices Are a Hidden Security Risk for Your Business](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2025/11/why-iot-devices-are-a-hidden-security-risk-for-your-business) 

   Search the blog   Search     Recent Posts
------------

- [ExchangeDefender New UI is Live](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2026/05/exchangedefender-new-ui-is-live)
- [Announcing ExchangeDefender 10](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2026/04/announcing-exchangedefender-10)
- [Merry Christmas](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2025/12/merry-christmas)
- [Why IoT Devices Are a Hidden Security Risk for Your Business](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2025/11/why-iot-devices-are-a-hidden-security-risk-for-your-business)
- [Top 5 IT Problems Small Businesses Face in 2025 — and How to Fix Them](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog/2025/10/top-5-it-problems-small-businesses-face-in-2025-and-how-to-fix-them)

Categories
----------

- [Archiving](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=archiving) (21)
- [Business Continuity](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=business-continuity) (13)
- [Compliance](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=compliance) (8)
- [ExchangeDefender](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=exchangedefender) (349)
- [General](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=uncategorized) (590)
- [Hosted Services](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=hosted-services) (86)
- [Industry News](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=industrynews) (29)
- [Marketing](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=marketing) (18)
- [Phishing](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=phishing) (5)
- [PRO TIPS](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=pro-tips) (44)
- [Product Features](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=product-features) (54)
- [Security](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=security) (65)
- [Shockey Monkey](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=shockey-monkey) (22)
- [Spamfilter](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=spamfilter) (5)
- [Support](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=support) (45)
- [Webinars](https://www-preview.exchangedefender.com/blog?category=webinars) (44)

  Solutions
---------

- [Stop Spam &amp; Malware](/email-security)
- [Hands-Free Email Backup](/livearchive-backup)
- [Instant Email Recovery](/inbox)
- [Send Private Emails](/corporate-email-encryption)
- [Train Against Email Threats](/spearphishing)
- [Share Files Safely](/web-file-server)

Company
-------

- [About ExchangeDefender](/about-us)
- [Compliance &amp; Legal](/our-compliance)
- [Become a Partner](/partners)
- [Support Portal Login](https://support.exchangedefender.com/)
- [Microsoft 365 Email Management](/managed-email-operations)
- [AI Advisory Service](/management-ai)

 ![ExchangeDefender](/assets/images/dark-xd-logo.png)USA: +1 (407) 465-6800

United Kingdom: 0800 8620149

Australia: +61 0390010641

Fax: +1 (954) 839-8737

 [    ](https://www.facebook.com/ExchangeDefender) [    ](https://www.twitter.com/XD_Defender) [    ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/exchangdefender) [    ](/blog) 

© 2026 Own Web Now Corp - All rights reserved

 &lt;/&gt; with ❤️ in Orlando

 [SLA](/sla) [TOS](/tos) [PRIVACY](/privacy-end-users) [AUP](/aup) 

 We're Here to Help 👋
--------------------

Tired of AI 🤖 and hold music? Request a call or text (sms/telco charges may apply) and someone with a brain and a pulse will get in touch with you promptly.

  Close modal     

      Website   

  Name      Email Address      Company      Phone     

  Preferred Contact Method   Text me    Call me  

   Call Date    Call Time    Time Zone  Eastern Central Mountain Pacific London Paris Madrid Berlin Tokyo Dubai Sydney   

  Request Human Contact Submitting...  

  Close 

 Start Your Free Year
--------------------

Enter your details and we will set up your free year of email protection.

  Close modal     

       Website   

  Full Name      Email     

  Continue Submitting...  

  Close 

 Try ExchangeDefender for Free 💰
-------------------------------

We look forward to helping you secure your email. We offer a free 30-day no-risk trial, just fill out the form below and one of our onboarding techs will get you started. If you'd just like to take a look at the demo, click here for a [live demo site](/demo).

  Close modal     

      Website   

  Name      Email Address      Company      Phone     

  Preferred Contact Method   Text me    Call me  

   Call Date    Call Time    Time Zone  Eastern Central Mountain Pacific London Paris Madrid Berlin Tokyo Dubai Sydney   

  💰 Get your free month Submitting...   🏃 Explore a Live Demo Submitting...  

  Close 

 Train Your Team Before the Hackers Do 👋
---------------------------------------

ExchangeDefender Spearphish is our new phishing simulation and training tool, designed to help your team spot scams before they click. Want to be first in line? Request early access or get a personal demo — just drop your name and email below.

  Close modal     

       Website   

  Name      Email Address      Company      Phone     

  Preferred Contact Method   Text me    Call me  

   Call Date    Call Time    Time Zone  Eastern Central Mountain Pacific London Paris Madrid Berlin Tokyo Dubai Sydney   

  Request Early Access Submitting...  

  Close
