Microsoft Defender SmartScreen scans for potentially malicious websites. SmartScreen can block the landing pages in your Phishing Security Tests (PSTs). In order to prevent this, you’ll need to whitelist your phish link domains in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, then configure SmartScreen whitelisting settings through a group policy. To learn how to whitelist your phish link domains in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, follow the steps below.

Add Your Phish Links Domains

To learn how to add your phish link domains in your Microsoft Defender SmartScreen account, follow the steps below.

1. Log in to your KnowBe4 console and navigate to Phishing > Domains.
2. From the Root Domain column, copy your root domains and save them in a place you can easily access later.
3. Navigate to Start > Internet Options.
4. Navigate to Security > Trusted sites. Then, click Sites.
5. You’ll be redirected to the Trusted sites page. In the Add this website to the zone: field, paste the phish link root domains you copied earlier, clicking Add after every domain.
6. Ensure the Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone check box is deselected. 
7. Click Close. You'll be redirected to the Security tab. 
8. Select Custom level....  
9. On the Security Settings - Trusted Sites Zone page, scroll down to Use Microsoft Defender SmartScreen and select Disable.
10. Click OK.

Add Your Group Policy

To learn how to configure your Microsoft Defender SmartScreen whitelisting settings through a group policy, follow the steps below.

1. Add the root phish link domains to the Trusted Sites Zone by following the steps in Microsoft's Group Policy Internet Explorer Security Zones article.
2. Navigate to Start > Group Policy Management Editor, then navigate to:
   Windows Components\Internet Explorer\Internet Control Panel\Security Page\Trusted Sites Zone.
3. Then, double-click Turn on SmartScreen Filter scan.
4. In the pop-up window that appears, select Enabled.
5. In the Options field, select the Disable option from the Use Smart Screen Filter drop-down menu.

Add Custom Indicator Entries

If you’re using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 1, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2, or Microsoft Defender XDR and your devices are Defender Managed, you can bypass Windows Defender SmartScreen for Microsoft browsers by adding our phish link domains as custom indicator entries.

To learn how to add custom indicator entries to your Microsoft 365 account, follow the steps below.

1. Log in to your KnowBe4 console and navigate to Phishing > Domains.
2. On the Phish Link Domains page, copy your Root Domains from the table or download them using the Download CSV button.
3. In a new window, log in to your Microsoft 365 admin center.
4. Navigate to Admin centers > Security.
5. From the menu on the left side of the page, scroll down and click Settings > Endpoints.
6. In the Rules section, select Indicators.
7. Navigate to the URLs/Domains section, then select Add item.
   Tip:To add the domains in bulk, see the Manage indicators article from Microsoft.
   
8. On the Indicator page, Create an indicator entry for each unique root domain that you copied earlier. For more information, see the screenshot and list below.
   1. URL/Domain: Paste the root domain you copied earlier.
   2. Title: Enter a title for this indicator entry, such as “KnowBe4 Simulated Phishing Domain”.
   3. Description: Enter a description for this indicator entry, such as “KnowBe4 - Bypass Defender SmartScreen”.
   4. Expires on (UTC): Select Never.
9. Click Next.
10. On the Action page, select Allow. Then, click Next.
11. On the Organization scope page, click Next.
12. On the Summary page, review your settings. Then, click Submit.
13. Repeat steps 7-12 for each indicator entry.