Avira Professional Security

Product Updates
Best Practices

Table of Contents

1. What is Avira Professional Security?................... 3

2. Where else can Avira Professional Security be
found?............................................................... 3
3. Product updates................................................ 3
4. Best practices regarding product update
configurations................................................... 4

4.1 Standalone installation.................................................................5

4.2 Using Avira Management Console (AMC)...................................6

4.2.1 General behavior: Automatic updates vs. manual updates......................... 6

4.2.2 Using Avira Update Manager (AUM) Test mode
for critical environments.................................................................................. 9
4.2.3 AUM Test mode: Automatic updates............................................................ 12
4.2.4 AUM Test mode: Manual updates.................................................................. 14

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1. What is Avira Professional Security?

The Avira Professional Security protection package is a product, which protects your
Windows workstation in real-time from malware while allowing remote centralized
management.
The latest system requirements can be found in the manual delivered with the product (press F1 in the configuration console).

2. Where else can Avira Professional Security be

found?
Avira Professional Security is also part of the following product bundles:

Avira Business Security Suite

Avira Small Business Security Suite
Avira Endpoint Security
Avira Endpoint & Email Security

3. Product updates
Starting with version 2013 Avira Professional Security has only one update possibility: download product and detection updates together. It is no longer allowed to deny
the product updates.
If the product decides that after performing a Product update a reboot is required,
the user (or Administrator) will see a notification informing him about this.

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Once the update has been completed, a popup will appear requesting a reboot.

4. Best practices regarding product update

configurations
We recommend to always apply product updates immediately because this ensures
that your product receives always the latest improvements and patches. In case a
reboot is not possible, then it should be performed as soon as possible.
The configuration of the update settings is dependent on the method of installing and
controlling the Avira Professional Security product: standalone or in AMC managed
mode.

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4.1 Standalone installation

In a standalone installation, it is possible to configure the product via the Configuration Center. There is already a predefined update task which per default updates the
engine and virus definition files every hour.

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4.2 Using Avira Management Console (AMC)

4.2.1 General behavior: Automatic updates vs. manual updates
The default update behavior after installing the AMC is automatic updates and could
be adjusted in the configurations options at the assigned Avira Update Manager
(AUM).

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If activated, the behavior could be checked at the security environment or any other
group/host object:

An automatic update of the hosts happens, if

the AUM has successful finished the update of the mirrored products
the AUM has downloaded new updates
the hosts or host groups are assigned to this automatic AUM update source (see
screenshot above)
the hosts are online and connected with the AMC (agent communication push or
pull)
Then, the AUM informs the hosts to do an update. They do it either directly if the
agent push mode is activated. Or they do it via a pending task after the next agent
pull sequence, which could also be helpful to get a constant scheduling.
Automatic updates are working very well for permanently connected hosts like workstations and server. However, hosts like notebooks or partially connected workstations need manual updates.

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Manual updates could either be created on the host itself (see above standalone
installation) or they can be created in the AMC:

On creating a manual update task, it is useful or even necessary to adjust the update
source for manual updates (they are probably different than in the automatic mode).
The manual update source can be adjusted in the update configuration option of the
product. In the following example the local AUM is chosen as the priority server. If the
local AUM can be reached, the updates are loaded from this source.

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If it fails (notebook is connected outside the company), the default servers are chosen and the host gets an update directly from the Avira update servers:

With several update status, you can trigger an email. The email alerting can be set up
in the AMC (email is send by AMC) or the host product (professional/server, email is
sent from there).
Please refer to the AMC manual, chapter 7.4 Update overview:
http://www.avira.com/documents/products/pdf/en/man_avira_antivir-smc_en.pdf

4.2.2 Using Avira Update Manager (AUM) Test mode

for critical environments
Using the AUM Test mode allows the customer to check every update (VDF, engine
and product) to an assigned test group / test host(s) before applying it to productive
hosts.
If the test is successful, it is possible to release the updates to the production group
(all other hosts) or do it automatically at a configurable time after the last update.

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First of all, activate the AUM test mode:

The test mode is establishing an additional http port. The default http test port is 7100
and can be adjusted in the AUM network settings:

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10

Then you will see two sub groups in the AUM products, one for released updates and
one for test updates:

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11

To be sure that the productive environment is not be negatively affected by driving

AV updates, you can assign the test update server to a typical used host or host
group and drive the tests. The tests could be a full on-demand scan and/or on-access
scan. If the tests are successful, the updates can be committed to the release update
group. In case a suspicious file or a suspected false positive was found, you can
send the concerned files to the Avira Support via
https://analysis.avira.com/en/submit
Again, there are two ways to proceed with test updates: Via the automatic updates
and manual updates. If you want to be sure that only test updates and accordingly
committed updates are applied to the host/host group, you have to be sure that only
these wanted update sources apply to the hosts/groups. This means that no other
update source (automatic or manual) can be applied!

4.2.3 AUM Test mode: Automatic updates

First, assign the test update server to the test group:

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12

Then, assign the productive update server to the concerned productive group:

Next, update the mirrored products in the test server:

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13

The updates are applied automatically to the test group (see General behavior: Automatic updates vs. manual updates).
After finishing the tests successfully, the test updates can be committed to the productive server:

Again, the updates are applied automatically to the assigned productive group (see
General behavior: Automatic updates vs. manual updates).

4.2.4 AUM Test mode: Manual updates

If you are working with the AUM test mode, it is common to use also scheduled tasks
via a manual update mechanism.
Important:
To make sure that the one and only update source for test and release product updates is your own local AUM server, you need to configure the settings as follows.
For the test source use the given http test port and enter this source in the priority server AND in the default server. This combination makes sure that only the test
server is prompted for an update, even if the AUM service is temporarily down. Of
course, if the AUM is down, you will get an update error/email and nothing will be
updated. But otherwise, you can avoid that nothing untested is going to be installed:

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14

For the productive environment you also have to assign the productive sources in
both fields:

Please refer to the AMC manual, chapter 7.1.2 Using the AUM in test mode.
http://www.avira.com/documents/products/pdf/en/man_avira_antivir-smc_en.pdf

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This manual was created with great care. However, errors in design and contents
cannot be excluded. The reproduction of this publication or parts thereof in any form
is prohibited without previous written consent from Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG.
Issued Q1-2013
Brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners. Protected trademarks are not marked as such in this manual.
However, this does not mean that they may be used freely.

2013 Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG. All rights reserved.
Errors and omissions excluded.

Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG

Kaplaneiweg 1
88069 Tettnang
Germany

Telephone: +49 7542-500 0

Facsimile +49 7542-500 3000
www.avira.com