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How to Create and Deploy Antimalware Policies for Endpoint Protection in Configuration Manager

 

Updated: May 14, 2015

Applies To: System Center 2012 R2 Endpoint Protection, System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1, System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP2, System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager, System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection SP1, System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection, System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager SP1

You can deploy antimalware policies to collections of Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager client computers to specify how Endpoint Protection protects them from malware and other threats. These antimalware policies include information about the scan schedule, the types of files and folders to scan, and the actions to take when malware is detected. When you enable Endpoint Protection, a default antimalware policy is applied to client computers. You can also use additional policy templates that are supplied or create your own custom antimalware policies to meet the specific needs of your environment.

Note

Configuration Manager supplies a selection of predefined templates that are optimized for various scenarios and can be imported into Configuration Manager. These templates are available in the folder <ConfigMgr Install Folder>\AdminConsole\XMLStorage\EPTemplates.

Important

If you create a new antimalware policy and deploy it to a collection, this antimalware policy overrides the default antimalware policy.

Use the procedures in this topic to create or import antimalware policies and assign them to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager client computers in your hierarchy.

Note

Before you perform these procedures, ensure that Configuration Manager is configured for Endpoint Protection as described in Configuring Endpoint Protection in Configuration Manager.

To modify the default antimalware policy

  1. In the Configuration Manager console, click Assets and Compliance.

  2. In the Assets and Compliance workspace, expand Endpoint Protection, and then click Antimalware Policies.

  3. Select the antimalware policy Default Client Antimalware Policy and then, on the Home tab, in the Properties group, click Properties.

  4. In the Default Antimalware Policy dialog box, configure the settings that you require for this antimalware policy, and then click OK.

    Note

    For a list of settings that you can configure, see List of Antimalware Policy Settings in this topic.

To create a new antimalware policy

  1. In the Configuration Manager console, click Assets and Compliance.

  2. In the Assets and Compliance workspace, expand Endpoint Protection, and then click Antimalware Policies.

  3. On the Home tab, in the Create group, click Create Antimalware Policy.

  4. In the General section of the Create Antimalware Policy dialog box, enter a name and a description for the policy.

  5. In the Create Antimalware Policy dialog box, configure the settings that you require for this antimalware policy, and then click OK.

    Note

    For a list of settings that you can configure, see List of Antimalware Policy Settings in this topic.

  6. Verify that the new antimalware policy is displayed in the Antimalware Policies list.

To import an antimalware policy

  1. In the Configuration Manager console, click Assets and Compliance.

  2. In the Assets and Compliance workspace, expand Endpoint Protection, and then click Antimalware Policies.

  3. In the Home tab, in the Create group, click Import.

  4. In the Open dialog box, browse to the policy file to import, and then click Open.

  5. In the Create Antimalware Policy dialog box, review the settings to use, and then click OK.

  6. Verify that the new antimalware policy is displayed in the Antimalware Policies list.

To deploy an antimalware policy to client computers

  1. In the Configuration Manager console, click Assets and Compliance.

  2. In the Assets and Compliance workspace, expand Endpoint Protection, and then click Antimalware Policies.

  3. In the Antimalware Policies list, select the antimalware policy to deploy. Then, on the Home tab, in the Deployment group, click Deploy.

    Note

    The Deploy option cannot be used with the default client malware policy.

  4. In the Select Collection dialog box, select the device collection to which you want to deploy the antimalware policy, and then click OK.

List of Antimalware Policy Settings

Many of the antimalware settings are self-explanatory. Use the following sections for more information about the settings that might require more information before you configure them.

Scheduled Scans

Setting name

Description

Scan type

You can specify one of two scan types to run on client computers:

  • Quick scan – This type of scan checks the in-memory processes and folders where malware is typically found. It requires fewer resources than a full scan.

  • Full Scan – This type of scan adds a full check of all local files and folders to the items scanned in the quick scan. This scan takes longer than a quick scan and uses more CPU processing and memory resources on client computers.

In most cases, use Quick scan to minimize the use of system resources on client computers. If malware removal requires a full scan, Endpoint Protection generates an alert that is displayed in the Configuration Manager console.

The default value is Quick scan.

Randomize the scheduled scan start times (within 30 minutes)

Select True (Configuration Manager with no service pack) or Yes (Configuration Manager SP1) if you want to help avoid flooding the network, which can occur if all computers send their antimalware scans results to the Configuration Manager database at the same time.

This setting is also useful when you run multiple virtual machines on a single host. Select this option to reduce the amount of simultaneous disk access for antimalware scanning.

Note

In Configuration Manager SP1, this setting appears in the Advanced section of the antimalware policy settings.

Scan Settings

Setting name

Description

Scan network drives when running a full scan

Set to True (Configuration Manager with no service pack) or Yes (Configuration Manager SP1) if you want to scan any mapped network drives on client computers.

Important

If you enable this setting, it might significantly increase the scan time on client computers.

Default Actions

Select the action to take when malware is detected on client computers. The following actions can be applied, depending on the alert threat level of the detected malware.

  • Recommended – Use the action recommended in the malware definition file.

  • Quarantine – Quarantine the malware but do not remove it.

  • Remove – Remove the malware from the computer.

  • Allow – Do not remove or quarantine the malware.

Real-time Protection

Setting name

Description

Enable real-time protection

Set to True (Configuration Manager with no service pack) or Yes (Configuration Manager SP1) if you want to configure real-time protection settings for client computers. We recommend that you enable this setting.

Monitor file and program activity on your computer

Set to True (Configuration Manager with no service pack) or Yes (Configuration Manager SP1) if you want Endpoint Protection to monitor when files and programs start to run on client computers and to alert you about any actions that they perform or actions taken on them.

Scan system files

This setting lets you configure whether incoming, outgoing, or incoming and outgoing system files are monitored for malware. For performance reasons, you might have to change the default value of Scan incoming and outgoing files if a server has high incoming or outgoing file activity.

Enable behavior monitoring

Enable this setting to use computer activity and file data to detect unknown threats. When this setting is enabled, it might increase the time required to scan computers for malware.

Enable protection against network-based exploits

Enable this setting to protect computers against known network exploits by inspecting network traffic and blocking any suspicious activity.

Enable script scanning

For Configuration Manager with no service pack only.

Enable this setting if you want to scan any scripts that run on computers for suspicious activity.

Exclusion Settings

Setting name

Description

Excluded files and folders

Click Set to open the Configure File and Folder Exclusions dialog box and specify the names of the files and folders to exclude from Endpoint Protection scans.

If you want to exclude files and folders that are located on a mapped network drive, specify the name of each folder in the network drive individually. For example, if a network drive is mapped as F:\MyFolder and it contains subfolders named Folder1, Folder2 and Folder 3, specify the following exclusions:

  • F:\MyFolder\Folder1

  • F:\MyFolder\Folder2

  • F:\MyFolder\Folder3

Advanced

Setting name

Description

Enable reparse point scanning

For System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 and later:

Set to Yes if you want Endpoint Protection to scan NTFS reparse points.

For more information about reparse points, see Reparse Points in the Windows Dev Center.

Threat Overrides

Setting name

Description

Threat name and override action

Click Set to customize the remediation action to take for each threat ID when it is detected during a scan.

Note

The list of threat names might not be available immediately after the configuration of Endpoint Protection. Wait until the Endpoint Protection point has synchronized the threat information, and then try again.

Definition Updates

Setting name

Description

Set sources and order for Endpoint Protection client updates

Click Set Source to specify the sources for definition and scanning engine updates, and to also specify the order in which they are used. If Configuration Manager is specified as one of the sources, then the other sources are used only if software updates fails to download the client updates.

If you use any of the following methods to update the definitions on client computers, then the client computers must be able to access the Internet.

  • Updates distributed from Microsoft Update

  • Updates distributed from Microsoft Malware Protection Center

Important

Clients download definition updates by using the built-in system account. You must configure a proxy server for this account to enable these clients to connect to the Internet.

If you have configured a software updates automatic deployment rule to deliver definition updates to client computers, these updates will be delivered regardless of the definition updates settings.