Proofpoint: Removal of service

Synopsis

You have, for one reason or another, decided to cancel your Proofpoint subscription with Sherweb. If your decision is due to a technical or billing issue and you would like to explore other options before canceling your Proofpoint service, please contact your Sales representative, or our billing or support teams for assistance. However, if you are certain that cancelation is the best option for you, please follow the guide below.


Because removing Proofpoint Essentials involves more than simply clicking 'cancel', this guide has been prepared to help you do so as seamlessly as possible.


Using Proofpoint involves routing both inbound and outbound email to and from Proofpoint, respectively. Therefore, mail flow settings changes are required at both the DNS and the mail server levels.


To see the appropriate steps for your situation, select the link below that corresponds with the email service from which you want to remove Proofpoint.


Office 365

 

Step 1: Locate MX records and update domains associated with your Proofpoint Essentials account

  • In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Settings > Domains.
  • On the Domains page, select the domain in your Proofpoint account.
  • Choose Manage DNS.
  • Copy or take note of the MX record value.
  • Log in to your DNS provider's admin panel and modify your MX records to reflect the values that were listed in the Microsoft 365 admin centre.
  • Repeat the steps above for each domain present in your Proofpoint configuration.


Step 2: Disable and/or delete any connectors in the Microsoft 365 Exchange Admin Center that are redirecting to Proofpoint

  • In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Admin centers > Exchange.
  • Navigate to Mailflow > Connectors. Remove any connectors linked to Proofpoint Essentials. 
  • Navigate to Mailflow > Rules. Delete any rules that were created during the Proofpoint deployment.


Step 3: Remove the Proofpoint service from your Cumulus Account

  • Because Proofpoint billing is based on the number of users reported by Proofpoint, it is important to delete all Proofpoint users before removing the offer from your account in Cumulus. Once all users have been deleted, it will take up to 6 hours for Proofpoint to communicate the updated user count back to Cumulus. When Cumulus shows a license count of '0', you can remove the offer.


Google Workspace


Step 1: Locate MX records and update domains associated with your Proofpoint Essentials account

  • In the Google Admin console, go to Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail.
  • Click Setup.
  • Under Setup, scroll down and to the MX records to view the values.
  • Copy or take note of the MX record value.
  • Log in to your DNS provider's admin panel and modify your MX records to reflect the values that were listed in the Google Admin console.
  • Repeat the steps above for each domain present in your Proofpoint configuration.


Step 2: Remove Outbound Relay


Step 3: Update Safety Settings

  • In the Google Admin console, click Apps, then Google Workspace followed by Gmail.
  • Click Safety to expand the options.
  • Click Attachments, make any desired changes and Save.
  • Click Links and external images, make any desired changes and Save.
  • Click Spoofing and authentication.
  • Check all settings.
    • These setting, including Apply future recommended settings automatically would have been disabled when setting up Proofpoint Essentials as they would have caused mail flow issues, and should now be re-enabled.


Step 4: Wait at least 4 hours to allow changes to propagate before proceeding to the next step.


Step 5: Disable and/or delete By-Pass Filtering in Google Workspace

  • In the Google Admin console, go to Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail.
  • Click Spam, Phishing, and Malware.
  • Hover you mouse cursor to the right of Inbound Gateway and click the edit icon (pencil) when it appears.
  • Check Disable. This will disable the inbound gateway control for this Google Workspace account and will hide options that were configured when Proofpoint was originally set up.


Step 6: Configure Internal Routing

  • In the Google Admin console, go to Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail.
  • In the top navigation menu, click Setting for Gmail > Routing.
  • Click Disable listed next to the route you need to disable (Default name may be "Internal routing for Google Workspace").
  • Click Proceed.

Step 7: Configure Outbound Mail Flow

  • In the Google Admin console, go to Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail.
  • In the top navigation menu, click Setting for Gmail > Routing.
  • Verify the Rules list.
  • Click Disable or Delete for each of the rules you no longer need.

Step 8: Remove the Proofpoint service from your Cumulus Account

  • Because Proofpoint billing is based on the number of users reported by Proofpoint, it is important to delete all Proofpoint users before removing the offer from your account in Cumulus. Once all users have been deleted, it will take up to 6 hours for Proofpoint to communicate the updated user count back to Cumulus. When Cumulus shows a license count of '0', you can remove the offer.


Sherweb's Hosted Exchange


Step1: Locate MX records and update domains associated with your Proofpoint Essentials account 

  • Log in to your Sherweb Hosted Exchange control panel and take note of the MX record values.
  • Log in to your DNS provider's admin panel and modify your MX records to reflect the values that were listed in the Hosted Exchange Control Panel.
  • Repeat the steps above for each domain present in your Proofpoint configuration.


Step 2: Contact Sherweb support to continue the rest of the offboarding

  • Contact out Support team via email or telephone, explaining that you are removing the service.
  • A Sherweb technician will contact you when the mail flow settings have been updated on the Hosted Exchange server. You can then proceed to the next step.


Step 3: Remove the Proofpoint service from your Cumulus Account

  • Because Proofpoint billing is based on the number of users reported by Proofpoint, it is important to delete all Proofpoint users before removing the offer from your account in Cumulus. Once all users have been deleted, it will take up to 6 hours for Proofpoint to communicate the updated user count back to Cumulus. When Cumulus shows a license count of '0', you can remove the offer.


Applicable to

Proofpoint, Office 365, Microsoft 365, O365, M365, Hosted Exchange