Configure agents that have no internet access

If your agents or relays don't have access to the internet (also called "air-gapped agents"), then they won't be able to access several of the security services provided by the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network. These security services are necessary for the full and successful operation of the Deep Security Anti-Malware and Web Reputation features.

The Trend Micro Smart Protection Network security services are:

Service name	Required for these features
Smart Scan Service	Smart Scan
Web Reputation Service	Web Reputation
Global Census Service	behavior monitoring, predictive machine learning
Good File Reputation Service	behavior monitoring, predictive machine learning, process memory scans
Predictive Machine Learning Service	predictive machine learning

In addition to the above services, the agent and relay-enabled agent also need access to the Trend Micro Update Server (also called "Active Update"), which is not part of the Smart Protection Network, but is a component that is hosted by Trend Micro and accessed over the internet.

If any of your agents or relay-enabled agents can't reach the services above, you have several solutions, described below.

Solutions

• Solution 1: Use a proxy
• Solution 2: Install a Smart Protection Server locally
• Solution 3: Get updates in an isolated network
• Solution 4: Disable the features that use Trend Micro security services

Use a proxy

If your agents or relay-enabled agents can't connect to the internet, you can install a proxy that can. Your Deep Security Agents and relays connect to the proxy, and the proxy then connects outbound to the Trend Micro security services in the Smart Protection Network.

With a proxy, each Smart Scan or Web Reputation request goes out over the internet to the Smart Protection Network. Consider instead using a Smart Protection Server inside your LAN to keep these requests within your network and reduce extranet bandwidth usage.

To use a proxy, see Configure proxies.

Install a Smart Protection Server locally

If your agents and relay-enabled agents can't connect to the internet, you can install a Smart Protection Server in your local area network (LAN) to which they can connect. The local Smart Protection Server periodically connects outbound over the internet to the Smart Protection Network to retrieve the latest Smart Scan Anti-Malware patterns and Web Reputation information. This information is cached on the Smart Protection Server and queried by your agents and relay-enabled agents. The Smart Protection Server does not push updates to the agents or relay-enabled agents.

If you decide to use this solution, remember that:

• Functionality is limited. Only the Smart Scan and Web Reputation features are supported with a local Smart Protection Server.
• Use the proxy solution if you need the behavior monitoring, predictive machine learning, and process memory scanning features. See Use a proxy above for details. If you decide not to use these features, you must disable them to prevent a query failure and to improve performance. For instructions on disabling these features, see Disable the features that use Trend Micro security services

To deploy a Smart Protection Server, install it manually. See the Smart Protection Server documentation for details.

The scenario described above applies when only the Deep Security Agent and relay-enabled agent are air-gapped, but Deep Security Manager has internet access or proxy access as described in Port numbers, URLs, and IP addresses. If Deep Security Manager is also air-gapped, you will need to use a proxy to receive security updates from the Trend Micro Active Update Server. Alternatively, use Solution 3: Get updates in an isolated network.

Get updates in an isolated network

If your Deep Security Manager is in an isolated network without connection to the internet and your agents or relay-enabled agents also can't connect to the internet, you can install an additional stand-alone Deep Security Manager with database and a relay-enabled agent in your demilitarized zone (DMZ) or another area where internet access is available.

Once all the components are installed, you can configure the relay-enabled agent in the DMZ to automatically obtain the latest malware scan updates from the Update Server on the internet. These updates must be extracted to a .zip file, and then manually copied to your air-gapped relay. (Detailed instructions follow.)

If you decide to use this solution, remember that:

• The .zip file contains traditional (large) malware patterns, which give you basic Anti-Malware capabilities.
• The .zip file also contains Deep Security Rule Updates, which are used for Intrusion Prevention, Integrity Monitoring, and Log Inspection. You can also choose to obtain those updates separately (See Get rules updates in an isolated network).
• The following advanced Anti-Malware features are not available: Smart Scan, behavior monitoring, predictive machine learning, process memory scans, and Web Reputation. These features all require access to Trend Micro security services.
• You should disable the advanced Anti-Malware features (Solution 4) since they cannot be used.
• You should have a plan in place to periodically update the .zip file on your air-gapped relay to ensure you always have the latest malware patterns.

To deploy this solution, follow these steps (for upgrade steps, see below):

1. Install a Deep Security Manager and its associated database in your DMZ. We'll call these internet-facing components the 'DMZ manager' and 'DMZ database'.
2. Install a Deep Security Agent in your DMZ and configure it as a relay. We'll call this agent the 'DMZ relay'. For information on setting up relays, see Deploy additional relays.
   The following items are now installed:
   • a DMZ manager
   • a DMZ database
   • a DMZ relay
   • an air-gapped manager
   • an air-gapped database
   • an air-gapped relay
   • multiple air-gapped agents
3. On the DMZ relay, create a .zip file containing the latest malware patterns by running this command:

dsa_control -b
The command line output shows the name and location of the .zip file that was generated.

4. Copy the .zip file to the air-gapped relay. Place the file in the relay's installation directory.
   • On Windows the default directory is C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\Deep Security Agent.
   • On Linux the default directory is /opt/ds_agent.

   Do not rename the .zip file.

5. On the air-gapped manager, initiate a security update download:
   1. Click Computers at the top.
   2. In the list of computers, find your air-gapped relay where you copied the .zip file, right-click it and select Download Security Update.
      The air-gapped relay checks its configured update source (typically the Update Server on the internet). Since it can't connect to this server, it checks the .zip file in its installation directory. When it finds the .zip file, it extracts it and imports the updates. The updates are then disseminated to the air-gapped agents that are configured to connect to the relay.
      
   3. Delete the .zip file after the updates are imported to the air-gapped relay.
6. Configure the air-gapped relay to connect to itself instead of the Update Server (to prevent connection error alerts):
   1. Log in to the air-gapped manager.
   2. Click Administration on the top.
   3. On the left, click System Settings.
   4. In the main pane, click the Updates tab.
   5. Under Primary Security Update Source, select Other update source and enter https://localhost:[port] where [port] is the configured port number for security updates, by default 4122.
   6. Click OK.
      The air-gapped relay no longer tries to connect to the Update Server on the internet.
7. (Optional but recommended.) To improve performance, Disable the features that use Trend Micro security services.
8. On a periodic basis, download the latest updates to your DMZ relay, zip them up, copy them to your air-gapped relay, and initiate a security update download on the relay.

You have now deployed a Deep Security Manager, associated database, and relay in your DMZ from which to obtain malware scan updates.

To upgrade this solution, upgrade in this order: 

1. DMZ manager (and its database, if the database software also needs to be upgraded)
2. DMZ relay
3. air-gapped manager (and its database, if the database software also needs to be upgraded)
4. air-gapped relay
5. air-gapped agents

If you do not upgrade relays first, security component upgrades and software upgrades may fail.

For details on upgrading, see Install Deep Security Manager (for manager upgrade steps),Upgrade Deep Security Relay, and Upgrade Deep Security Agent.

Get rules updates in an isolated network

The .zip file that you created in the previous section contains the Deep Security Rule Updates that are used for Intrusion Prevention, Integrity Monitoring, and Log Inspection. However, if you would like to get those updates separately:

1. On the DMZ manager, go to Administration > Updates > Security > Rules.
2. Click a rule update (.dsru file) and click Export. The file is downloaded locally.
3. Repeat the export for each .dsru file that you want to apply to the air-gapped manager.
4. Copy the .dsru files to the air-gapped manager.
5. On the air-gapped manager, go to Administration > Updates > Security > Rules.
6. Click Import, select the .dsru file, and click Next.
7. The manager validates the file and displays a summary of the rules it contains. Click Next.
8. A message displays, saying that the rule update was imported successfully. Click Close.
9. Repeat the import for each .dsru file that you want to apply to the air-gapped manager.

Disable the features that use Trend Micro security services

You can disable the features that use Trend Micro security services. Doing so improves performance because the air-gapped agent no longer tries (and fails) to query the services.

Without Trend Micro security services, your malware detection is downgraded significantly, ransomware is not detected at all, and process memory scans are also affected. It is therefore strongly recommended that you use one of the other solutions to allow access to Trend Micro security services. If this is impossible, only then should you disable features to realize performance gains.

• To disable Smart Scans:
  1. Open the Computer or Policy editorYou can change these settings for a policy or for a specific computer. To change the settings for a policy, go to the Polices page and double-click the policy that you want to edit (or select the policy and click Details). To change the settings for a computer, go to the Computers page and double-click the computer that you want to edit (or select the computer and click Details). .
  2. On the left, click Anti-Malware.
  3. In the main pane, click Smart Protection.
  4. Under Smart Scan, deselect Inherited (if it is selected) and then select Off.
  5. Click Save.
• To disable web reputation:
  1. Open the Computer or Policy editorYou can change these settings for a policy or for a specific computer. To change the settings for a policy, go to the Polices page and double-click the policy that you want to edit (or select the policy and click Details). To change the settings for a computer, go to the Computers page and double-click the computer that you want to edit (or select the computer and click Details)..
  2. On the left, click Web Reputation.
  3. In the main pane, make sure the General tab is selected.
  4. From the Configuration drop-down list, select Off.
  5. Click Save.
• To disable Smart Feedback:
  1. In Deep Security Manager, click Administration at the top.
  2. Click System Settings on the left.
  3. In the main pane, click the Smart Feedback tab.
  4. Deselect Enable Trend Micro Smart Feedback (recommended).
  5. Click Save.
• To disable process memory scans:
  1. In Deep Security Manager, click Policies at the top.
  2. On the left, expand Common Objects > Other and then click Malware Scan Configurations.
  3. Double-click a malware scan configuration with a SCAN TYPE of Real-Time.
  4. On the General tab, under Process Memory Scan, deselect Scan process memory for malware.
  5. Click OK.
• To disable predictive machine learning:
  1. Make sure you still have a real-time malware scan configuration open.
  2. On the General tab, under Predictive Machine Learning, deselect Enable Predictive Machine Learning.
  3. Click OK.
• To disable behavior monitoring:
  1. Make sure you still have a real-time malware scan configuration open.
  2. On the General tab, under Behavior Monitoring, deselect Enable Behavior Monitoring.
  3. Click OK.

Also disable the census and grid queries on the Deep Security Manager if you want performance gains. If you leave them enabled, a lot of unnecessary background processing takes place. To disable these queries:

1. Disable the census query:

dsm_c -action changesetting -name settings.configuration.enableCensusQuery -value false

2. Disable the grid query:

dsm_c -action changesetting -name settings.configuration.enableGridQuery -value false