Configure agents that have no internet access

If your agents or relays do not have access to the internet (air-gapped agents), then they cannot access some 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 modules.

The Trend Micro Smart Protection Network security services include the following:

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 these services, the agent and relay-enabled agent 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 cannot reach these services, you have several solutions.

Solutions

Use a proxy

If your agents or relay-enabled agents cannot 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 cannot connect to the internet, you can install a Smart Protection Server in your local area network (LAN) to which your agents and relay-enabled agents 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, keep in mind the following:

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

This scenario applies when only an 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 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 cannot 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.

If you decide to use this solution, keep in mind the following:

To deploy this solution, follow these steps:

  1. Install Deep Security Manager and its associated database in your DMZ. These internet-facing components can be referred to as DMZ manager and DMZ database.
  2. Install an agent in your DMZ and configure it as a relay. This agent can be referred to the DMZ relay. For information on setting up relays, see Deploy additional relays.
    The following is now installed:
    • DMZ manager
    • DMZ database
    • DMZ relay
    • air-gapped manager
    • air-gapped database
    • 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:
  4. dsa_control -b
    The command line output shows the name and location of the .zip file that was generated.

  5. 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.

  6. 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 cannot 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.
  7. 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, select 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.
  8. Optionally, to improve performance, Disable features that use Trend Micro security services.
  9. On a periodic basis, download the latest updates to your DMZ relay, zip them, 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, perform the upgrade in the following 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, Upgrade Deep Security Relay, and Upgrade Deep Security Agent.

Get rules updates in an isolated network

The .zip file you created 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.

    A message displays, saying that the rule update was imported successfully.

  8. Click Close.
  9. Repeat the import for each .dsru file that you want to apply to the air-gapped manager.

Disable features that use Trend Micro security services

You can disable 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 improve performance, you can disable the census and grid (Good File Reputation) queries on Deep Security Manager. If you leave them enabled, a significant amount of unnecessary background processing takes place.

  • To disable the census query using the command line, execute the following:

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

  • To disable the census query from the UI:
    1. Go to Computer > Settings > General > Network Setting for Census, Good File Reputation, and Predictive Machine Learning Services.
    2. For Enable Census query, select No.
  • Disable the grid query using the command line, execute the following:

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

  • To disable the grid query from the UI:
    1. Go to Computer > Settings > General > Network Setting for Census, Good File Reputation, and Predictive Machine Learning Services.
    2. For Enable Good file reputation query, select No.