Need info on which protocol does UIPath “Get Outlook Mail Message” activity uses to read mails from Outlook.
We have the Outlook installed in the VMs for the BOT to read the input files , considering the recent changes on the Microsoft side (Details given below) want to understand if there is any impact for the UIPath bots using Outlook on the VMs, if yes what are the changes that we need to make in the VM/BOT. Please help us with this.
What’s the protocol used in UIPath while using this activity to read emails from Outlook ?
Do we have any impact on the BOTS, if yes what needs to changed in the VM/BOT to work ?
What is changing?
Microsoft has announced (link) that starting October 1, 2022, Basic Authentication (username and password) will be permanently turned off (disabled) for the following protocols in Exchange Online:
MAPI, RPC, Offline Address Book (OAB), Exchange Web Services (EWS), POP, IMAP, Exchange ActiveSync (EAS), Remote PowerShell and Outlook for Windows/Mac.
SMTP AUTH is excluded from this deprecation but will be disabled in all tenants in which it’s not being used.
This change requires customers to move from apps that use basic authentication to apps that use Modern authentication (OAuth 2.0 token-based authorization)
That’s a very good question, so basically when you use Outlook activities (not to be confused with O365) UiPath is accessing mail through your Outlook application profile, therefore it will use the same protocol as the one configured on your Outlook desktop app.
Usually this protocol is MAPI, but depending on the configuration it could also be Exchange or POP/IMAP + SMTP. On the newer versions of Outlook desktop app Oauth authentication is already the default for outlook accounts, then the change shouldn’t impact your code.
On the other hand, if you’re retrieving/sending mail using IMAP + SMTP or if using an older version of exchange that authenticates with username/password you should consider moving to the O365 activities / Use Outlook 365 and use Oauth / SSSO / SAML depending on your current infrastructure.
TL;DR; Verify your outlook configuration and how you access email from UiPath to ensure the proper authentication method is in place.
We are currently using UiPath.MicrosoftOffice365.Activities —> Use Microsoft Office 365 scope, pass Application Id, Tenant and set authentication type (Integrated Windows authentication).
Hi Edwin : 1. Is there any impact to use IT automation activities after Oct 2022 (disable certain protocols used in basic authentication) : Active Directory domain services, Office 365 etc, Invoke PowerShell activities
AD activities : No imapct as activities are using LDAPS protocol.
PowerShell : Not sure.
Invoke PowerShell is just basically launching a PowerShell script, so if you’re script is working running directly on PowerShell is very likely it will run in UiPath.
What you’ll need to consider is the actions you’re performing, so for example your script authenticates to outlook using username/password it will definitely fail after the roll out, if you’re performing actions with other windows services I’ll recommend doing a full review of your script needs with your system admin. I hope this makes sense