MS-900 Practice Question: Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365
During a Microsoft 365 planning workshop, provide baseline anti-spam and anti-malware filtering for Exchange Online. Microsoft security, identity, or compliance capability should it use?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse general Microsoft 365 apps (Stream, Forms, Planner) with security services, failing to recognize that Exchange Online Protection is the dedicated anti-spam/anti-malware service for Exchange Online.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Exchange Online Protection
Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is the cloud-based filtering service built into Exchange Online that provides baseline anti-spam and anti-malware protection. It scans all inbound and outbound messages using heuristics, signature-based detection, and connection filtering to block malicious content before it reaches user mailboxes.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Microsoft Stream
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft Stream is an enterprise video service, not a messaging security component. It is designed to upload, store, and play video content in SharePoint and OneDrive, and it has no mail transport pipeline, SMTP inspection, or attachment scanning capabilities. Therefore, Stream cannot provide baseline anti-malware/anti-spam protection for email.
- ✗
Microsoft Forms
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft Forms is a lightweight survey, quiz, and data-collection tool in Microsoft 365. It collects form responses and stores them in a backend data store, but it never processes inbound email messages or scans SMTP traffic. Forms lacks mail-flow rules, spam filtering, and malware detection engines, so it cannot fulfill this security requirement.
- ✓
Exchange Online Protection
Why this is correct
Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is the core email security service in Microsoft 365 that sits in front of Exchange Online mailboxes. EOP filters all inbound and outbound messages for spam, malware, and phishing using multiple detection engines and policy controls. It is the correct baseline anti-malware/anti-spam filter for an organization's email environment.
- ✗
Microsoft Planner
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft Planner is a project management and task board application within Microsoft 365. It manages teamwork by organizing tasks, assignments, and deadlines, but it has no role in email transport, message inspection, or threat detection. Planner cannot quarantine malicious messages, block phishing URLs, or scan attachments, so it is not a security or compliance control for email.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Identity Governance and Entitlement Management
Key term
Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based cloud service from Microsoft that combines productivity tools like Office apps with security, device management, and online storage.
Key term
User
A user is any person, system, or device that interacts with an IT service, resource, or identity system, typically authenticated through credentials and authorized to perform specific actions.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This MS-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the MS-900 exam.