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Running tasks

Running tasks on computers

This is the list of tasks you can run:

You can choose to create tasks individually for each computer or for groups of computers. For example, you can remotely install the security agent on a group of unmanaged computers. At a later time, you can create a scan task for a certain computer from the same group.

For each computer, you can only run compatible tasks. For example, if you select an unmanaged computer, you can only choose to install the security agent, all the other tasks being disabled.

For a group, the selected task will be created only for compatible computers. If none of the computers in the group is compatible with the selected task, you will be notified that the task could not be created.

When you, as a Partner, assign a task to endpoints in multiple managed companies, GravityZone creates one task for each company. A task contains only sub-tasks for endpoints in that company.

Note

To assign a task to endpoints in Customer companies managed by a Partner company, you can only select those companies but not the Partner company itself. To assign a task to endpoints in the Partner company, you must first access the Network inventory of that company. You cannot assign a task to endpoints in multiple Partner companies at once; instead, you must access the Network inventory of each company one by one.

Once created, the task will start running immediately on the online computers. If a computer is offline, the task will run as soon as it gets back online.

network_page_tasks_48058_p_en.png

You can view and manage the task in the Network > Tasks page. For more information, refer to Viewing and managing tasks.

Malware scan

To remotely run a scan task on one or several endpoints:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. Select the container that you want from the left-side pane. All endpoints from the selected container are displayed in the right-side pane table.

  4. Select the check boxes of endpoints or groups you want to scan.

  5. Click the task.png Tasks button at the upper side of the table and choose Malware scan.

    A configuration window will appear.

  6. Configure the scan options:

    • In the General tab, you can choose the type of scan and you can enter a name for the scan task.

      The scan task name is intended to help you easily identify the current scan in the Tasks page.

      malware_scan_custom_49596_en.png

      Select the type of scan from the Type menu:

      • Quick scan uses in-the-cloud scanning to detect malware running in the system. This type of scan is preconfigured to allow scanning only critical Windows and Linux system locations. Running a Quick Scan usually takes less than a minute and uses a fraction of the system resources needed by a regular virus scan.

        When malware or rootkits are found, Bitdefender automatically proceeds with disinfection. If, for any reason, the file cannot be disinfected, then it is moved to quarantine. This type of scanning ignores suspicious files.

      • Full scan checks the entire system for all types of malware threatening its security, such as viruses, spyware, adware, rootkits and others.

        Bitdefender automatically tries to disinfect files detected with malware. In case malware cannot be removed, it is contained in quarantine, where it cannot do any harm. Suspicious files are being ignored. If you want to take action on suspicious files as well, or if you want other default actions for infected files, then choose to run a Custom Scan.

      • Memory scan checks the programs running in the endpoint's memory.

      • Network scan is a type of custom scan, allowing to scan network drives using the Bitdefender security agent installed on the target endpoint.

        For the network scan task to work:

        • You need to assign the task to one single endpoint in your network.

        • You need to enter the credentials of a user account with read/write permissions on the target network drives, for the security agent to be able to access and take actions on these network drives. The required credentials can be configured in the Target tab of the tasks window.

      • Custom scan allows you to choose the locations to be scanned and to configure the scan options.

      For memory, network and custom scans, you have also these options:

      • Run the task with low priority. Select this check box to decrease the priority of the scan process and allow other programs to run faster. This will increase the time needed for the scan process to finish.

        On ARM-based macOS endpoints, the security agent optimizes the scan process depending on the processor usage. At over 50% usage, the scan process relocates to the efficiency cores, while at over 80% the task pauses until the processor usage drops below this threshold. Intel-based macOS endpoints do not support the Run the task with low priority option.

      • Shut down computer when scan is finished. Select this check box to turn off your machine if you do not intend to use it for a while.

      • Pause scan when computer is in Battery mode: this option helps you pause the scanning process on endpoints running on battery power and automatically resume it once they are plugged back in.

      • Enable CPU usage control: this option allows you to adjust the CPU usage allocated for the scanning process and tailor the scan performance to your needs. The option is available for Linux and macOS systems, offering three levels:

        • Low

          macOS: One core is reserved for scanning from the total number of available cores. The scanning process pauses when the idle CPU usage falls below 75% of the remaining cores and automatically resumes when idle CPU usage rises above this threshold.

          Linux: the scanning process uses up to 25% of the total CPU.

        • Medium

          macOS: One core is reserved for scanning from the total number of available cores. The scanning process pauses when the idle CPU usage falls below 50% of the remaining cores and automatically resumes when it rises above this threshold.

          Linux: the scan uses up to 50% of the total CPU.

        • High

          macOS: One core is reserved for scanning from the total number of available cores. The scanning process pauses when the idle CPU usage falls below 25% of the remaining cores and automatically resumes when it rises above this threshold.

          Linux: no CPU usage limit is imposed on the scanning process.

        Note

        Selecting a specific CPU usage profile directly impacts the duration of the scan task. Lower CPU usage results in longer scan times, while higher CPU usage speeds up the scanning process.

      For custom scans, configure the following settings:

      • Go to the Options tab to set the scan options.

        Click the security level that best suits your needs (Aggressive, Normal or Permissive).

        Use the description on the right-side of the scale to guide your choice.

        Based on the selected profile, the scan options in the Settings section are automatically configured. However, if you want to, you can configure them in detail. To do that, select the Custom check box and then expand the Settings section.

        malware_scan_custom_49596_en.png

        The following options are available:

        • File types

          Use these options to specify which types of files you want to be scanned.

          You can set the security agent to scan all files (regardless of their file extension), application files only or specific file extensions you consider to be dangerous.

          Scanning all files provides best protection, while scanning applications only can be used to perform a quicker scan.

          Note

          Application files are far more vulnerable to malware attacks than other types of files.

          For more information, refer to Application file types.

          If you want only specific extensions to be scanned, choose Custom extensions from the menu and then enter the extensions in the edit field, pressing Enter after each extension.

          Important

          Bitdefender security agents installed on Windows and Linux operating systems scan most of the .ISO formats, but does not take any action on them.

          scan_task_window-options-file_types.png

        • Archives

          Archives containing infected files are not an immediate threat to system security.

          The malware can affect the system only if the infected file is extracted from the archive and executed without having real-time protection enabled.

          However, it is recommended to scan archives in order to detect and remove any potential threat, even if it is not an immediate threat.

          Important

          Scanning archived files increases the overall scanning time and requires more system resources.

          • Scan inside archives

            Select this option if you want to check archived files for malware.

            If you decide on using this option, you can configure the following optimization options:

            • Limit archive size to (MB)

              You can set a maximum accepted size limit of archives to be scanned.

              Select the corresponding check box and type the maximum archive size (in MB).

            • Maximum archive depth (levels)

              Select the corresponding check box and choose the maximum archive depth from the menu.

              For best performance choose the lowest value, for maximum protection choose the highest value.

          • Scan email archives

            Select this option if you want to enable scanning of email message files and email databases, including file formats such as .eml, .msg, .pst, .dbx, .mbx, .tbb and others.

            Important

            Email archive scanning is resource intensive and can impact system performance.

        • Miscellaneous

          Select the corresponding check boxes to enable the desired scan options.

          • Scan boot sectors

            Scans the system’s boot sector.

            This sector of the hard disk contains the necessary computer code to start the boot process.

            When a virus infects the boot sector, the drive may become inaccessible and you may not be able to start your system and access your data.

          • Scan UEFI

            This option enables Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) scanning ensuring the security and integrity of the system's boot process and protecting against sophisticated threats that can persist at the firmware level.

            The option is available for Full, Quick, and Custom scan types and is enabled by default when the security level is set to Aggressive.

          • Scan registry

            Select this option to scan registry keys.

            Windows Registry is a database that stores configuration settings and options for the Windows operating system components, as well as for installed applications.

          • Scan for rootkits

            Select this option to scan for glossary.rootkit rootkits and objects hidden using such software.

          • Scan for keyloggers

            Select this option to scan for glossary.keylogger keylogger software.

          • Scan network shares

            This option scans mounted network drives.

            For quick scans, this option is deactivated by default. For full scans, it is activated by default. For custom scans, if you set the security level to Aggressive/Normal, the Scan network shares option is automatically enabled. If you set the security level to Permissive, the Scan network shares option is automatically disabled.

          • Scan memory

            Select this option to scan programs running in the system's memory.

          • Scan cookies

            Select this option to scan the cookies stored by browsers on the computer.

          • Scan only new and changed files

            By scanning only new and changed files, you may greatly improve overall system responsiveness with a minimum trade-off in security.

          • Scan for Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA)

            A Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA) is a program that may be unwanted on the PC and sometimes comes bundled with freeware software. Such programs can be installed without the user's consent (also called adware) or will be included by default in the express installation kit (ad-supported). Potential effects of these programs include the display of pop-ups, installing unwanted toolbars in the default browser or running several processes in the background and slowing down the PC performance.

          • Preserve last access time

            This option helps you control whether to preserve the last access time for a file during a scan or to allow the scanning process to modify the timestamp of that file. The option is enabled by default.

          • Scan detachable volumes

            Select this option to scan any removable storage drive attached to the endpoint.

        • Actions

          Depending on the type of detected file, the following actions are taken automatically:

          • When an infected object is found

            Bitdefender detects objects (such as files and registries) as infected through various advanced mechanisms, which include malware signatures, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) based technologies.

            The security agent typically handles infected objects by denying access to them and moving them to quarantine. An attempt is then made to disinfect the system by removing the malware code and any artifacts created by the malware.

            If an infected object is detected, the security agent will automatically attempt to remediate it.

            Important

            For particular types of malware, disinfection is not possible because the detected object is entirely malicious. In such cases, the infected object is deleted from the disk.

          • When a rootkit is found

            Rootkits represent specialized software used to hide files from the operating system.

            Though not malicious in nature, rootkits are often used to hide malware or to conceal the presence of an intruder into the system.

            Detected rootkits and hidden files are ignored by default.

          Though not recommended, you can change the default actions.

          The following actions are available:

          • Remediate

            Access to the infected objects is denied, and they are moved to quarantine. An attempt is then made to disinfect the system by removing the malware code and any artifacts created by the malware.

            It is recommended to always keep this as the default action to be taken on infected objects.

            Note

            To automatically move the infected objects to quarantine, make sure you have selected Copy files to quarantine before applying the disinfect action in the Antimalware > Settings section of the policy.

          • Move to quarantine

            Infected objects are moved from their current location to the quarantine folder.

            Quarantined files cannot be executed or opened; therefore, the risk of getting infected disappears.

            You can manage quarantine files from the Quarantine page of the console.

          • Report only

            No action will be taken on infected objects. These objects will only appear in the scan log.

      • Go to Target tab to configure the locations you want to be scanned on the target endpoints.

        In the Scan target section you can add a new file or folder to be scanned:

        1. Choose a predefined location from the drop-down menu or enter the Specific paths you want to scan.

        2. Specify the path to the object to be scanned in the edit field.

          • If you have chosen a predefined location, complete the path as needed.

            For example, to scan the entire Program Files folder, it suffices to select the corresponding predefined location from the drop-down menu.

            To scan a specific folder from Program Files, you must complete the path by adding a backslash (\) and the folder name.

          • If you have chosen Specific paths, enter the full path to the object to be scanned.

            It is advisable to use system variables (where appropriate) to make sure the path is valid on all target computers. For more information regarding system variables, refer to appendices.variables.

        3. Click the corresponding add_inline.png Add button.

        To edit an existing location, click it.

        To remove a location from the list, click the corresponding elete_inline.png Delete button.

        For network scan tasks, you need to enter the credentials of a user account with read/write permissions on the target network drives, for the security agent to be able to access and take actions on these network drives.

        Click the Exclusions section if you want to define target exclusions.

        scan_task_window-target-exclusions.png

        You can either use the exclusions defined by policy or define explicit exclusions for the current scan task.

        For more details regarding exclusions, refer to Settings.

  7. Click Save to create the scan task. A confirmation message will appear.

You can view and manage the task on the Network > Tasks page. For more information, refer to Viewing and managing tasks.

Note

To schedule a scan task, go to the Policies page from the left side menu, select the policy assigned to the computers you are interested in, and add a scan task in the Antimalware > On-demand section. For more information, refer to On-demand.

IOC scan

At any time, you can choose to run on-demand scanning for known Indicators of Compromise (IOC) on selected endpoints.

Important

This task is only available for plans that include the EDR / XDR feature.

Running an IOC scan task

To run an IOC scan task, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. Browse the containers and select the endpoints you want to scan.

  4. Click the task.pngTasks button and choose IOC scan.

    A configuration page will appear, where you need to select the type of indicators taken into account for IOC scanning.

    IOC scan - Configuration page

    Important

    You must select at least one type of Indicator of Compromise to create a valid task.

  5. Select one or more IOC types you want to take into account for scanning and write the known IOC name in the newly added field.

    IOC types

    You can select from the following types:

    • MD5

    • SHA1

    • SHA256

    • SHA512

    • File Names

    • Process Names

    • Registry Values

    • Registry Keys

    Note

    Content added inside each field must be valid. Otherwise, you will be prompted with a warning sign and a message.

  6. Click Save to create and run the IOC scan task.

    A confirmation message will appear.

    You can check the task's progress in the Network > Tasks page.

    IOC scan tasks

  7. Once the task has finished successfully, you can click the tasks_report_button_cop_92928_en.pngReports button to read the report generated and assess the impact of the IOC you scanned for.

Formatting for IOC scan fields

The File Names and Process Names fields accept as input any of the following:

  • file names or process names, for example, malware.exe

  • absolute file paths, for example, C:\Users\User1\Downloads\malware.exe

  • file paths that contain:

    • variables, for example, %AppData%\Malware\malware.exe

      These variables refer to Windows Known Folders. Only use these variables at the beginning of the file path.

    • wildcard characters, for example, **\AppData\**\*.exe

      There are three types of supported wildcard characters:

      • ? - matches any one character

      • * - matches zero or more characters, excluding the \ and / characters.

      • ** - matches zero or more characters, including the \ and / characters.

Use the Registry Values field to scan for registry value names. Your input must contain the full path to the registry value. See the example below.

Registry value name
IOC scan - Registry Values field

Use the Registry Keys field to scan for registry keys and subkeys. Your input must contain the full path to the registry key or subkey. See the example below.

Registry key
IOC scan - Registry Keys field

IOC scan limitations

Valid file extensions for IOCs added to the task include: exe, dll, com, scr, jar, msi, msc, bat, ps1, vbs, vbe, js, jse, wsf, wsh, psc1, lnk, doc, docx, docm, xls, xlsx, xlsm, ppt, pptx, pptm, eml, rtf, pdf, html, ppsx, pps, ppsm, pot, potx, potm, ocx, sys, fnr, fne, and pif.

The Scan for IOC task will scan the following locations:

  • %Windows%\System32\Drivers

  • %Windows%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0

  • %Windows%\system32\config\systemprofile\AppData

  • %Windows%\System32\Tasks

  • %Windows%\System32\wbem

  • %Windows%\SysWOW64\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0

  • %Windows%\SysWOW64\config\systemprofile\AppData

  • %Windows%\SysWOW64\sysprep

  • %Windows%\Scripts

  • %Windows%\System

  • %Windows%\Web

  • %Users%

Important

The IOC scan tasks will not run / will fail on endpoints in the following situations:

  • The endpoint does not have a Windows operating system.

  • The endpoint's Bitdefender agent license is invalid.

  • The EDR module is not installed in the security agent installed on the target endpoints.

  • More than 100 Scan for IOC tasks are currently in queue.

  • Invalid data is entered by user in the IOC scan task configuration page.

Risk scan

You can anytime choose to run on demand risk scan tasks on selected endpoints, as follows:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. Browse the containers from the left-side pane and select the endpoints you want to scan.

  4. Click the task.png Tasks button at the upper side of the table and choose Risk scan.

A confirmation page is displayed. Click Yes to confirm the request.

Important

The Risk scan tasks will not run / will fail on endpoints in the following situations:

  • The endpoint's Bitdefender agent license is invalid.

  • The policy applied to endpoint has the Risk Management module disabled.

  • The endpoint is offline or has issues.

You can view and manage the task on the Network > Tasks page. For more information, refer to Viewing and managing tasks.

Exchange scan

You can remotely scan the database of an Exchange Server by running an Exchange scan task.

To be able to scan the Exchange database, you must enable on-demand scanning by providing the credentials of an Exchange administrator. For more information, refer to Exchange Store Scanning.

To scan an Exchange Server database:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. From the left-side pane, select the group containing the target Exchange Server. You can find the server displayed in the right-side pane.

    Note

    Optionally, you can apply filters to quickly find the target server:

    • Click the Filters menu and select the following options: Managed (Exchange Servers) from the Security tab and All items recursively from the Depth tab.

    • Enter the server's hostname or IP in the fields from the corresponding column headers.

  4. Select the check box of the Exchange Server whose database you want to scan.

  5. Click the Tasks button at the upper side of the table and choose Exchange scan. A configuration window will appear.

  6. Configure the scan options:

    • General. Enter a suggestive name for the task.

      For large databases, the scan task may take a long time and may impact the server performance. In such cases, select the check box Stop scan if it takes longer than and choose a convenient time interval from the corresponding menus.

    • policies.computers.exchange.antimalware.store.settings.target

    • policies.computers.exchange.antimalware.transport.rules.settings

    • policies.computers.exchange.antimalware.transport.rules.actions

  7. Click Save to create the scan task. A confirmation message will appear.

  8. You can view and manage the task on the Network > Tasks page. For more information, refer to Viewing and managing tasks.

Install agent

To protect your endpoints with the Bitdefender security agent, you must install it on each of them.

Warning

  • The first endpoint on which you install protection must have Relay role, otherwise you will not be able to remotely install the security agent on other endpoints in the same network.

  • The Relay endpoint must be powered-on and online in order for the connected agents to communicate with Control Center.

Once you have installed a Relay agent, it will automatically detect unprotected endpoints in the same network.

The Bitdefender protection can then be installed on endpoints remotely from Control Center.

Remote installation is performed in the background, without the user knowing about it.

Warning

Before installation, be sure to uninstall existing antimalware and firewall software from computers.

Installing the Bitdefender protection over existing security software may affect their operation and cause major problems with the system.

Windows Defender and Windows Firewall will be turned off automatically when installation starts.

If you want to deploy the security agent on a computer with Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac 5.X, you first must remove the latter manually. For the guiding steps, refer to Deploying Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools on a machine with Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac.

When deploying the agent through a Linux Relay, the following conditions must be met:

  • The Relay endpoint must have installed the Samba package (smbclient) version 4.1.0 or above and the net binary/command to deploy Windows agents.

    The net binary/command is usually delivered with the samba-client and / or samba-common packages. On some Linux distributions (such as CentOS 7.4), the net command is only being installed when installing the full Samba suite (Common + Client + Server). Make sure that your Relay endpoint has the net command available.

  • Target Windows endpoints must have Administrative Share and Network Share enabled.

  • Target Linux and macOS endpoints must have SSH enabled and firewall disabled.

To run a remote installation task:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. Select the desired group from the left-side pane.

    The entities contained in the selected group are displayed in the right-side pane table.

    Optionally, you can apply filters to display unmanaged endpoints only. Click the Filters menu and select the following options: Unmanaged from the Security tab and All items recursively from the Depth tab.

    When working with EC2 instances, you can also add the EC2 Instances option in the Type tab, while applying all the other above mentioned criteria.

  4. Select the entities (endpoints or groups of endpoints) on which you want to install protection.

  5. Click the task.pngTasks button at the upper side of the table and choose Install agent.

    The Install agent task wizard is displayed.

    install_agent_48017_en.png

  6. Under Options section, configure the installation time:

    • Now, to launch the deployment immediately.

    • Scheduled, to set up the deployment recurrence interval. In this case, select the time interval that you want (hourly, daily or weekly) and configure it according to your needs.

      For example, when certain operations are required on the target machine before installing the client (such as uninstalling other software and restarting the OS), you can schedule the deployment task to run every 2 hours. The task will start on each target machine every 2 hours until the deployment is successful.

  7. If you want target endpoints to automatically restart for completing the installation, select Automatically reboot (if needed).

  8. Under the Credentials Manager section, specify the administrative credentials required for remote authentication on target endpoints. You can add the credentials by entering the user and password for each target operating system.

    Important

    For Windows 8.1 stations, you need to provide the credentials of the built-in administrator account or a domain administrator account. To learn more, refer to Client software deployment on Windows 8.1/10/2012 and above.Client software deployment on Windows 8.1/10/2012 and above

    To add the required OS credentials:

    1. Enter the user name and password of an administrator account in the corresponding fields from the table header.

      If computers are in a domain, it suffices to enter the credentials of the domain administrator.

      Use Windows conventions when entering the name of a user account:

      • For Active Directory machines use these syntaxes: [email protected] and domain\username. To make sure that entered credentials will work, add them in both forms ([email protected] and domain\username).

      • For Workgroup machines, it suffices to enter only the user name, without the workgroup name.

      Optionally, you can add a description that will help you identify each account more easily.

    2. Enter the user name of an administrator account in the corresponding fields from the table header.

      Use Windows conventions when entering the name of a domain user account, for example, [email protected] or domain\user. To make sure that entered credentials will work, add them in both forms ([email protected] and domain\user).

      Note

      If computers are in a domain, it suffices to enter the credentials of the domain administrator.

      Use Windows conventions when entering the name of a domain user account, for example, [email protected] or domain\user. To make sure that entered credentials will work, add them in both forms ([email protected] and domain\user).

    3. Select the authentication type from the menu:

      • Password, to use the administrator's password.

      • Upload .pem file, to use a private key.

    4. If you authenticate using a password, enter the password in the field next to the menu.

    5. If you authenticate using a private key, click the Browse button and select the .pem file containing the corresponding private key.

    6. Optionally, you can add a description that will help you identify each account more easily.

    7. Click the add_inline.pngAdd button. The account is added to the list of credentials.

      Specified credentials are automatically saved to your Credentials Manager so that you do not have to enter them the next time. To access the Credentials Manager, just point to your username in the upper-right corner of the console.

      Important

      If the provided credentials are invalid, the client deployment will fail on the corresponding endpoints. Make sure to update the entered OS credentials in the Credentials Manager when these are changed on the target endpoints.

  9. Select the check boxes corresponding to the accounts you want to use.

    A warning message is displayed as long as you have not selected any credentials. This step is mandatory to remotely install the security agent on endpoints.

  10. Under Deployer section, configure the Relay to which the target endpoints will connect for installing and updating the client:

    • All machines with Relay role detected in your network will show-up in the table available under the Deployer section. Each new client must be connected to at least one Relay client from the same network, that will serve as communication and update server. Select the Relay that you want to link with the target endpoints. Connected endpoints will communicate with Control Center only via the specified Relay.

      Important

      Port 7074 must be open, for the deployment through the Relay agent to work.

      install_client-best-2-deployer.png

    • If target endpoints communicate with the Relay agent via proxy, you also need to define the proxy settings. In this case, select Use proxy for communication and enter the required proxy settings in the fields below.

  11. You need to select one installation package for the current deployment. Click the Use package list and select the installation package that you want. You can find here all the installation packages previously created for your account and also the default installation package available with Control Center.

  12. If needed, you can modify some of the selected installation package's settings by clicking the button Customize next to the Use package field.

    The installation package's settings will appear below and you can make the changes that you need. To find out more about editing installation packages, refer to Create installation packages.

    If you want to save the modifications as a new package, select the Save as package option placed at the bottom of the package settings list, and enter a name for the new installation package.

  13. Click Save.

    A confirmation message will appear.

You can view and manage the task in the Network > Tasks page.

If using VMware Horizon View Persona Management, it is recommended to configure Active Directory Group Policy to exclude the following Bitdefender processes (without the full path):

  • bdredline.exe

  • epconsole.exe

  • epintegrationservice.exe

  • epprotectedservice.exe

  • epsecurityservice.exe

  • epupdateservice.exe

  • epupdateserver.exe

These exclusions must apply as long as the security agent runs on endpoint. For details, refer to this VMware Horizon documentation page.

Uninstall agent

To remotely uninstall the Bitdefender protection:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. Select the container that you want from the left-side pane. All endpoints from the selected container are displayed in the right-side pane table.

  4. Select the check boxes of endpoints from which you want uninstall the Bitdefender security agent.

  5. Click the task.png Tasks button at the upper side of the table and choose Uninstall agent.

  6. A configuration window is displayed, allowing you to opt for keeping the quarantined items on the client machine.

  7. Click Save to create the task. A confirmation message will appear.

    You can view and manage the task on the Network > Tasks page. For more information, refer to Viewing and managing tasks.

Note

If you want to reinstall protection, be sure to restart the computer first.

Watch a full video tutorial on the topic here:

Update agent

Check the status of managed computers periodically. If you notice a computer with security issues, click its name to display the Information page. For more information, refer to Checking the endpoint status.

Outdated clients or outdated security content represent security issues. In these cases, you should run an update on the corresponding computer. This task can be done locally from the computer, or remotely from Control Center.

To remotely update the client and the security content on managed computers:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. Select the container that you want from the left-side pane. All endpoints from the selected container are displayed in the right-side pane table.

  4. Select the check boxes of endpoints where you want to run a client update.

  5. Click the task.png Tasks button at the upper side of the table and choose Update agent. A configuration window will appear.

  6. You can choose to update only the product, only the security content or both.

  7. Click Update to run the task. A confirmation message will appear.

    You can view and manage the task on the Network > Tasks page. For more information, refer to Viewing and managing tasks.

Upgrade agent

This task is available only when Endpoint Security agent is installed and detected in the network. Bitdefender recommends upgrading from Endpoint Security to Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools, for a last-generation endpoint protection.

To easily find the security agents that are not upgraded, you can generate an upgrade status report. For details about how to create reports, refer to Creating reports.

Reconfigure agent

The security agent's protection modules, roles and scanning modes are initially configured within the installation package. After you have installed the security agent in your network, you can anytime change the initial settings by sending a Reconfigure agent remote task to the managed endpoints you are interested in.

Warning

The Reconfigure agent task also updates the security agent to the latest product version. While using this task, make sure to select the existing settings you want to keep.

You can change the installation settings from the Network area or from the Endpoint Modules Status report.

To change the installation settings for one or several endpoints:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. Select the group that you want from the left-side pane. All endpoints from the selected container are displayed in the right-side pane table.

  4. Select the check boxes of endpoints for which you want to change the installation settings.

  5. Click the task.png Tasks button at the upper side of the table and choose Reconfigure agent.

    Note

    The Reconfigure agent page will not show which modules are currently installed on the endpoint.

  6. Select one of the actions below:

    • Add - Add new modules besides the existing ones.

    • Remove - Remove specific modules from the existing ones.

      Note

      The Show all modules option enables Admins/Partners to conveniently access and view all modules, regardless of any licence restrictions that may be in place.

      You can uninstall modules that were previously installed but have become unusable or invisible due to licence changes or downgrades. This information is specific to the Remove option within the Reconfigure agent task.

    • Match list - Match the modules installed with your selection.

      Note

      Any unselected modules will be removed.

  7. Under Scan mode select the scan mode to be used on the endpoint:

    Note

    Only available when selecting the Match List option.

    The Scan mode option becomes available only when the selected endpoints belong to the same company and the Detection and prevention operation mode is chosen. If endpoints from different companies are selected, the Scan Mode section will not be visible.

    • Automatic. In this case, the security agent will automatically detect the endpoint's configuration and will adapt the scanning technology accordingly:

      • Central Scan in Public or Private Cloud (with Security Server) with fallback on Hybrid Scan (Light Engines), for physical endpoints with low hardware performance and for virtual machines. This case requires at least one Security Server deployed in the network.

      • Local Scan (with Full Engines) for physical endpoints with high hardware performance.

      Note

      Low performance endpoints are considered to have the CPU frequency less than 1.5 GHz, or RAM memory less than 1 GB.

    • Custom. In this case, you can configure the scan mode by choosing between several scanning technologies for physical and virtual machines:

      • Central Scan in Public or Private Cloud (with Security Server), which can fallback* on Local Scan (with Full Engines) or on Hybrid Scan (with Light Engines)

      • Hybrid Scan (with Light Engines)

      • Local Scan (with Full Engines)

      Default scan modes:

      • The default scan mode for EC2 instances is Local Scan (security content is stored on the installed security agent, and the scan is run locally on the machine). If you want to scan your EC2 instances with a Security Server, you need to configure the security agent’s installation package and the applied policy accordingly.

        Note

        In this case, the BitdefenderSecurity Server hosted in the AWS region corresponding to the target EC2 instances is automatically assigned.

      • The default scan mode for Microsoft Azure virtual machines is Local Scan (security content is stored on the installed security agent, and the scan is run locally on the machine). If you want to scan your Microsoft Azure virtual machines with a Security Server, you need to configure the security agent’s installation package and the applied policy accordingly.

      • The default scan mode for BEST for Linux v7 when using the Bitdefender for Security Containers add-on is:

        • Hybrid Scan, for physical endpoints (including container hosts) and nodes (in case of Kubernetes).

        • Central Scan with the fallback on Hybrid Scan for endpoints (including container hosts) and nodes (in case of Kubernetes) that are either virtual machines or on a cloud infrastructure (whether IaaS or PaaS) supported by GravityZone integrations.

          Note

          A Security Server needs to be available for this scan to apply. If none is available the scan mode will be set to Hybrid.

      For more information regarding available scanning technologies, refer to Antimalware.

      Security Server Assignment.

      1. Click the Security Server list in the table header. The list of detected Security Servers is displayed.

        Certain Bitdefender Partners can share their Security Servers with their customers. Here you can view the Security Servers your Bitdefender Partner has assigned to you, provided it has this ability.

      2. Select an entity.

      3. Click the add.pngAdd button from the Actions column header.

        The Security Server is added to the list.

      4. Follow the same steps to add several security servers, if available. In this case, you can configure their priority using the up-arrow.png up and down-arrow.png down arrows available at the right side of each entity. When the first Security Server is unavailable, the next one will be used and so on.

      5. To delete one entity from the list, click the corresponding delete_inline.pngDelete button at the upper side of the table.

      You can choose to encrypt the connection to Security Server by selecting the Use SSL option.

      For EC2 instances, the BitdefenderSecurity Server hosted in the corresponding AWS region is automatically assigned, so there is no need to configure the Security Server Assignment section.

  8. Under the Scheduler section, configure the time when the task will run:

    • Now, to launch the task immediately.

    • Scheduled, to set up the task recurrence interval. In this case, select the time interval that you want (hourly, daily or weekly) and configure it according to your needs.

      For example, when other important processes are also required to run on the target machine, you can schedule the task to run every 2 hours. The task will start on each target machine every 2 hours until it is successfully done.

  9. Configure the modules, roles and scan modes for the target endpoint as you want. For more information, refer to Install security agents - standard procedure

    Note

    You can only modify scan modes by using the Match list action.

    Warning

    • Only the supported modules for each operating system will be installed.

    • The Firewall module is available only for supported Windows workstations.

  10. Click Save. A confirmation message will appear.

    You can view and manage the task on the Network > Tasks page. For more information, refer to Viewing and managing tasks.

Repair agent

Use the Repair agent task as an initial troubleshooting task for any number of endpoint issues. The task downloads the latest install package on the target endpoint and then performs a reinstall of the agent.

Note

  • The modules currently configured on the agent will not be changed.

  • The repair task will reset the security agent to the current Slow Ring version.

To send a Repair agent task to the client:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. Select the container that you want from the left-side pane.

    All endpoints from the selected container are displayed in the right-side pane table.

  4. Select the check boxes of endpoints where you want to run a client repair.

  5. Click the task.png Tasks button and choose Repair agent.

    A confirmation window will appear.

  6. Select the I understand and agree check box and click the Save button to run the task.

    Note

    To finish the repair task, a client restart might be required.

You can view and manage the task on the Network > Tasks page. For more, information refer to Viewing and managing tasks.

Restart endpoint

You can choose to remotely restart managed endpoints.

Note

  • Check the Network > Tasks page before restarting certain endpoints. Previously created tasks may still be processing on target endpoints.

  • This task is available only for distributed environments.

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. Select the container that you want from the left-side pane. All endpoints from the selected container are displayed in the right-side pane table.

  4. Select the check boxes of endpoints you want to restart.

  5. Click the task.png Tasks button at the upper side of the table and choose Restart endpoint.

  6. Choose the restart schedule option:

    • Select Restart now to restart endpoints immediately.

    • Select Restart on and use the fields below to schedule the restart at the desired date and time.

  7. Click Save. A confirmation message will appear.

    You can view and manage the task on the Network > Tasks page. For more information, refer to Viewing and managing tasks.

Isolate endpoint

Isolate an endpoint in order to contain the spreading of potentially malicious activities, such as Lateral movement, to other endpoints in your network. When an endpoint is isolated, it can only communicate with GravityZone.

Note

For macOS, this action requires the EDR module to be installed on the endpoint. For Windows, the action is available whether the module is installed on the endpoint or not.

To isolate an endpoint:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. Select the container that you want from the left side pane. All endpoints from the selected container are displayed in the right side grid.

  4. Select the checkbox of the endpoint you want to isolate.

  5. Click the task.png Tasks button at the upper side of the table and choose Isolate endpoint.

  6. Confirm your choice.

You can view and manage the task on the Network > Tasks page. For more information, refer to Viewing and managing tasks.

Isolated endpoints will also display a warning message in the General tab of the endpoint's Information window.

Isolation-warning.png

Note

For the Isolate endpoint option to be available, Customer companies require at least one of the products below:

  • GravityZone Business Security Premium

  • GravityZone Business Security Enterprise

  • GravityZone Security for Workstations

  • GravityZone Security for Servers

  • GravityZone EDR Cloud

  • GravityZone Security for Endpoints Physical Workstations

  • GravityZone Security for Endpoints Physical Servers

  • GravityZone Security for Endpoints Virtualized Environments VDI

  • GravityZone Security for Endpoints Virtualized Environments VS

  • GravityZone Security for Virtual Env per CPU

  • Security for AWS

If Customer companies have a Monthly subscription plan, they need to have Advanced Threat Security enabled.

Remove from isolation

To remove an endpoint from isolation and bring it back on the network:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. Select the container that you want from the left side pane. All endpoints from the selected container are displayed in the right side grid.

  4. Select the checkbox of the endpoint you want to remove from isolation.

  5. Click the task.png Tasks button at the upper side of the table and choose Remove from isolation.

  6. Confirm your choice.

Note

For the Isolate option to be available, Customer companies require at least one of the products below:

  • GravityZone Business Security Premium

  • GravityZone Business Security Enterprise

  • GravityZone Security for Workstations

  • GravityZone Security for Servers

  • GravityZone EDR Cloud

  • GravityZone Security for Endpoints Physical Workstations (version released in April 2022)

  • GravityZone Security for Endpoints Physical Servers (version released in April 2022)

  • GravityZone Security for Endpoints Virtualized Environments VDI (version released in April 2022)

  • GravityZone Security for Endpoints Virtualized Environments VS (version released in April 2022)

  • GravityZone Security for Virtual Env per CPU (version released in April 2022)

  • Security for AWS

If Customer companies have a Monthly subscription plan, they need to have Advanced Threat Security enabled.

Submit to Sandbox Analyzer

At any time, you can remotely send samples to Sandbox Analyzer from any managed endpoint running Windows OS.

You can only submit samples from a single endpoint at once.

Note

To submit samples that you store locally on the machine where you access GravityZone Control Center, use the options on the Manual submission page.

Creating the task

To submit a sample from an endpoint in your network, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page in the GravityZone main menu.

  3. Browse your network and select the target endpoint.

  4. Click the Tasks menu and select Submit to Sandbox Analyzer.

  5. In the configuration window, fill in the following details:

    • Task name. By default, the task name is Submit to Sandbox Analyzer followed by date. If needed, you can change the name to find it easier on the Network > Tasks page.

      The task name supports up to 512 characters.

    • Path. Specify the full path to the sample you want detonated. For example, D:\temp\test.exe

      You can add up to 5 samples per submission. Each sample must be up to 100 MB. After each path, click the Add.png Add button.

      The path requires Windows format and supports up to 1024 characters.

      Sandbox Analyzer supports archives with two levels of nesting.

      Note

      An easy way to get the full path is to access the Security tab in the Properties window of the sample, on the target endpoint, and copy it from there.

    • Command line. Optionally, add command lines to be executed when the detonation starts.

      Command lines may include parameters. Executable files, such as interpreters, must include the full path. For example, C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe C:\script.ps1

      If nothing is specified, Sandbox Analyzer will automatically choose how to detonate the samples.

      You can add up to 10 command lines per submission. After each command line, click the Add.png Add button.

      Each command line supports up to 4096 characters.

    • Click Save.

      tasks_submit_to_sandbox_analyzer_904121_en.png

You can monitor the progress of the created task on the Network > Tasks page, under Submit to Sandbox Analyzer type.

Note

Sandbox Analyzer supports any Unicode characters.

Viewing the results

Sample detonation may take several minutes. When done, you can view the results on the Sandbox Analyzer page in the GravityZone main menu.

Each detonation has dedicated submission card, with the following details:

  • Submission type: manual.

  • Company name.

  • Verdict: clean, infected, unsupported.

  • Sample path, as you provided it when creating the task.

  • Severity score, which indicates the threat level posed by the sample.

  • Files and process involved, indicated by a number.

  • Endpoint name, as displayed in your network.

  • Environment where the detonation had taken place, which is identified as Cloud Sandbox.

  • MD5 hash.

  • ATT&CK techniques identified during detonation.

For a more detailed report, click the View button on the right side of the card.

tasks_sandbox_analyzer_results_904121_en.png

User activity

You can review the tasks on the Accounts > User activity page, under Area: Tasks.

Run network discovery

Network discovery is automatically performed every 4 hours by security agents with Relay role. However, you can manually run network discovery task from Control Center at any time, starting from any machine protected by Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools.

To run a network discovery task in your network:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. Select the container that you want from the left-side pane. All endpoints from the selected container are displayed in the right-side pane table.

  4. Select the check box of the endpoint you want to perform network discovery with.

  5. Click the task.png Tasks button at the upper side of the table and choose the Run network discovery task.

  6. A confirmation message will appear. Click Yes.

    You can view and manage the task on the Network > Tasks page. For more information, refer to Viewing and managing tasks.

The recently discovered endpoints are now included in the Network Inventory. The Filters menu available at the upper side of the network panes helps you easily display only specific network objects, providing several filter criteria.

Update Security Server

You can install a Security Server appliance only by downloading the Security Server installation package to a network share or to the local host and deploying it manually on the host. Once installed, the Security Server will appear under the Custom Groups folder belonging to its network.

You can view Security Server details by clicking it and displaying the Information window. For details regarding the Security Server appliance installation, refer to this section.

Note

Your product license may not include this feature.

If a Security Server is outdated, you can send it an update task:

  1. Log in to GravityZone Control Center.

  2. Go to the Network page from the left side menu.

  3. Select the group where the Security Server is installed.

    To easily locate the Security Server, you can use the Filters menu as follows:

    • Go to Security tab and select Security Servers only.

    • Go to Depth tab and select All items recursively.

  4. Click the task.png Tasks button at the upper side of the table and choose Update Security Server.

  5. Choose the type of update to perform:

    • Security features, for installing the Bitdefender new features, improvements and fixes, and security fixes

    • Operating system, for upgrading the operating system of the Security Server appliance

    Note

    Check the release notes to find out what type of update you are going to deploy.

  6. Additionally, for the operating system update, select the time and date when the update should run. You can run it immediately or schedule it at a convenient time, such as a maintenance window.

  7. Click OK to create the task.

    You can view and manage the task on the Network > Tasks page. For more information, refer to Viewing and Managing Tasks.

In this section: