CB Ac Agent Installation Guide
CB Ac Agent Installation Guide
CB Ac Agent Installation Guide
23 February 2023
VMware Carbon Black App Control services
VMware Carbon Black App Control Agent Installation Guide
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware website at:
https://docs.vmware.com/
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Copyright 2004-2023 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information.
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Contents
Preface 6
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7 Post-installation Activities 73
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10 Document History 89
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Preface
This guide provides information for system or network administrators who install, update, and
uninstall VMware Carbon Black App Control agent software on Windows, Linux, and macOS
endpoints.
Important The Carbon Black App Control agent installation process is non-interactive; it requires
no user input. As soon as installation is completed, the Carbon Black App Control agent begins
working – no additional configuration is needed, and in most cases a restart is unnecessary.
Intended Audience
This documentation provides agent installation, update, and uninstall instructions for
administrators, incident responders, and others who will operate Carbon Black App Control.
Staff who manage Carbon Black App Control activities should be familiar with operating systems,
web applications, installed software, desktop infrastructure (especially in-house procedures for
software roll-outs, patch management, and anti-virus software maintenance), and the effects of
unwanted software.
Document History
For a list of changes made to this guide, see Chapter 10 Document History.
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Preparing for Agent Installation or
Update 1
This section describes the steps necessary to install Carbon Black App Control agents on
endpoints. It also describes how to upgrade agents.
Tasks include adding installation packages for agents and rules files to the server, downloading
the Carbon Black App Control agent from a server to an endpoint, and installing the agent on an
endpoint.
Pre-installation Activities
This topic describes key computer configuration decisions you must make before installing Carbon
Black App Control agents on endpoints.
n CLI Management configuration options allow you to designate a user or group, or a password
usable by anyone, to perform certain agent management activities in conjunction with VMware
Carbon Black Support. Especially if you have systems that will be permanently offline, it is
best to choose one of these options before creating policies and distributing agent installation
packages. See "Advanced Configuration Options" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control
User Guide for more details.
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n Rules file and agent installer packages must be uploaded to the server from the VMware
Carbon Black User Exchange. Beginning with Carbon Black App Control Server v8.1.4, rules
and agent installers have been separated from the server installation to allow for greater
flexibility in updates.
n For a new Carbon Black App Control server, you must upload the rules file and agent
package installers to the server before agents can be downloaded to endpoints.
n For a server upgraded from a previous version, your previous rules and agent installers
remain in place, but there might be new rule and agent updates.
n Policies determine the groups of security settings available to endpoints — every agent
belongs to a policy. See "Creating and Configuring Policies" in the VMware Carbon Black
App Control User Guide if you have not yet created policies.
n Script Rules are best created and enabled before you deploy agents. This ensures that all
files matching those rules are in the inventory and can be approved or banned if you choose.
Script rules created or enabled after an agent is deployed require that endpoints be rescanned
before the files they identify are inventoried. See "Script Rules" in the VMware Carbon Black
App Control User Guide for more details.
n Review the expired certificate validation setting, especially if you will be running endpoints
offline. If you intend to allow file approval by certificates that have expired, make this choice
before you download and install the agents on permanently offline endpoints — otherwise,
they cannot use expired certificates. See "Approval with Expired Certificates" in the VMware
Carbon Black App Control User Guide for more details.
n Initial Policy assignment to an endpoint can be determined by Active Directory data, as
described in "Assigning Policy by Active Directory Mapping" in the VMware Carbon Black App
Control User Guide — or by the agent installer, as described in Downloading Agent Installers.
Although you can change this decision later, determining how you want policies assigned
before installing agents is recommended.
n Preparing a reference endpoint for a “snapshot” of files can give you a baseline for the files
in your environment if you plan to closely monitor changes in your file inventory. Ideally, this
is a clean computer onto which you install only the applications that you would like to run on
some or all of your systems. After the endpoint is prepared, you can install the agent and,
after initialization is complete, use the Snapshot process as described in "Monitoring Change:
Baseline Drift Reports" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide.
If you do not use AD-based policy assignment, you choose the agent installer for each endpoint
based on the endpoint’s platform and the policy that you want to control that endpoint.
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Setting up your server so that it can create installers is described in Uploading Agent Installers and
Rules to the Server. Installation of agents on endpoints is described in:
Tip It is a best practice to install agent software into a Disabled Mode policy. Such a policy is
configured to be in Disabled Enforcement mode. In such a scenario, the agent only initializes when
moved into any policy that is not configured for Disabled Enforcement.
The agent takes an inventory of all “interesting files” (executables and defined scripts) on the
client computer’s fixed drives (but not removable drives) and creates a hash of each file. When
an endpoint first connects to the server, its agent sends these hashes to the Carbon Black App
Control server to update the server’s file inventory.
Note Virtual machines cloned from template computers can be configured to include or omit
their initial (cloned) files in their inventory. See "Configuring Clone Inventory" in the VMware
Carbon Black App Control User Guide for more details.
Carbon Black App Control assigns files both a local and a global file state. Files that exist on
an endpoint at initialization receive a local state of Approved unless they have previously been
identified and globally banned or banned by policy on the Carbon Black App Control server.
Unless pre-banned or pre-approved by an Carbon Black App Control rule, files that the Carbon
Black App Control server has never seen before will get the global state of Unapproved and be
added to the catalog. If a file was first seen on this agent after initialization, it will also get the local
state of Unapproved on the agent. For more information on file state, see "File State, Approving
and Banning" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide.
During initialization, the computer is protected by whatever security policy is assigned to it, and
file activities are allowed or blocked according to that policy.
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n Manage computers – Ability to manually assign computer (endpoint) to policies and change
Enforcement Level
n Change advanced options – Ability to change advanced options such as collection diagnostics
and re-synchronizing
n Manage system configuration – Ability to upload new agent installer and rule packages
The built-in user roles have the following endpoint management permissions:
n Administrator and PowerUser accounts (including Unified Management versions) with default
permissions have full access to these features.
n Read-Only users with default permissions can view the details of endpoints running agents but
cannot add, delete, or change their configuration.
n The access level of users in custom login account roles depends on the role’s permissions in
the Computers asset rows on the Add Edit Role page. Note that some features described here
require additional permissions.
See "User Role Permissions" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide for full details
on viewing and changing login account role permissions.
In addition to standard computer management features, some or all users can be allowed to
access agent management commands that can be used in special situations, usually in consultation
with VMware Carbon Black Support. See "Configuring Agent Management Privileges" in the
VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide for more details.
n By Agent installer – Every policy you create generates a policy-specific Carbon Black App
Control agent installer for each supported platform, so when you install the agent on an
endpoint, it is assigned a policy. When the agent contacts the Carbon Black App Control
server after agent installation, the endpoint is added to table of computers (endpoints) in the
console. If you have not set up AD-based policy assignment, the agent remains in the policy
embedded in its installer unless you manually reassign it.
You do not have to (nor should you) reinstall a Carbon Black App Control agent to make
a policy change for an endpoint. You normally need to install the agent only one time per
endpoint.
n Automatically, by Active Directory (AD) group mapping – You can set up the Carbon Black
App Control server to run a script that assigns new and, if configured, existing endpoints to
security policies according to the AD group information of the endpoint (or the user logged
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in to it). An endpoint's initial policy is defined by the agent installer. If that initial policy
is configured to allow automatic policy assignment, this AD-based policy assignment takes
precedence. Policy assignment by AD mapping is described in Assigning Policy by Active
Directory Mapping.
n Manually – You can move any endpoint to a policy other than the one assigned by the installer
or the AD-mapping facility. This might be useful if you discover that a particular endpoint
used the wrong installer, or that its security policy should differ from other endpoints in the
AD group that was used to map its policy. Manual assignment might also be used for a
temporary situation that requires more or less restriction for an endpoint or its user. If you
manually change an endpoint's policy, you can later restore its original policy (or to automatic
assignment). Manual policy assignment is described in "Moving Computers to Another Policy"
in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide.
You can move endpoints from manual to automatic policy assignment and vice versa.
Note In certain cases, policy can be changed for reasons other than those listed above. For
example:
n If you delete the policy an agent belongs to while the endpoint is offline, the agent moves to
the Default policy group. See "Restoring Computers from the Default Policy" in the VMware
Carbon Black App Control User Guide for more details.
n There is an Event Rule action that can move endpoints to a different policy when a specified
event occurs. See "Creating and Editing Event Rules" in the VMware Carbon Black App
Control User Guide for more details.
If you are not using AD-based policy assignment, you can skip the AD-mapping topics and go
directly to Downloading Agent Installers for instructions on choosing a policy-specific installer.
AD-based policy assignment happens when an agent first contacts the Carbon Black App Control
server, and is checked again each time the server and agent re-establish contact or the logged-
in user on the agent endpoint changes (see Endpoint Registration and AD Mapping for more
information on when mapping can change).
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n Install the Carbon Black App Control server in an AD Domain – Install the Carbon Black App
Control server on an endpoint that is a member of an Active Directory domain. By default, the
Carbon Black App Control server must be in the same AD forest as the computers and users
you want to map. If you require cross-forest integration, contact your VMware Carbon Black
Support representative.
n Enable the AD Mapping Interface – You enable the AD-based policy mapping interface in the
Active Directory LDAP integration panel on the General tab of the System Configuration page.
n Create AD-mappable Target Policies – Create the security policies to which you want
endpoints assigned by AD Mapping, and make sure these policies allow automatic policy
assignment.
n Create Mappings – On the Mappings tab of the Policies page, create AD Policy Mapping rules
that use AD data to assign endpoints to different security policies
n Install or Move Agents to AD-mappable Policies – For new agent installations, make sure
that the policy for the agent installation packages allows automatic policy assignment. For
mapping to be successful, both the current policy of an agent and the policy to which will be
mapped must have automatic policy assignment enabled. For existing agents, if necessary,
you can change a policy from manual to automatic after installation or move the agent to an
AD-mappable policy.
Note The App Control Server will perform AD-mapping for any endpoint that is configured
through your Active Directory server, including non-Windows platforms.
Procedure
1 In the console menu, click the configuration (gear) icon and click System Configuration. The
System Configuration page displays.
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2 If the General Settings view is not already displayed, click the General tab. The second panel
on the General tab is Active Directory/LDAP integration.
3 In the Active Directory/LDAP Integration panel, click the Test button next to Test AD
Connectivity. If you see a Success message, continue to the next step. If you see an Error
message, your Carbon Black App Control server is unable to access AD. AD Mapping will not
work until you correct the problem.
4 If AD connectivity succeeds, click the Edit button at the bottom of the window.
6 In the Search Level dropdown menu, select Global Catalog for the AD browser to search all
domains, or select LDAP for a restricted search.
7 To submit the changes, click the Update button and then click Yes on the confirmation dialog.
Before you begin setting up mapping rules, make sure you have created all of the policies to which
you want computers mapped.
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You can create mapping rules that test for matching AD data including organizational units,
domains, security groups, computer names, and user names. Keep the following in mind when
creating mapping rules:
n Although you can choose to match AD Security Group data for either users or computers,
computer-based rules are recommended. With multiple users on a computer, sometimes
simultaneously logged on, AD Mapping rules based on users could lead to unexpected results.
n Carbon Black App Control does not support policy mapping for AD object names that contain
double quotes. Object names with double quotes cannot be handled properly by the directory
object browser you use to create a mapping rule.
n Try to create as few rules as possible and test for groups rather than individual objects.
The following table shows the rule parameters you provide for a mapping rule.
Parameter Description
Computer Object to Test The object that will be tested to see whether it matches
the rule. The choices are Computer, User, and User or
Computer.
Directory Object The object in AD that the data from the tested object
must match. Clicking the right end of this field opens an
browser from which you can search for an object in your
AD environment.
The choices for the Directory object field change
depending upon which Relationship you choose. If you
choose “is not in any domain,” no Directory object is
necessary.
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The result of providing these parameters is a rule that can be read like a sentence. The following is
how you might set up one rule.
Relationship … is in OU or domain …
Procedure
The Policies page opens and shows a list of all available policies.
The Active Directory Policy Mappings page displays together with the Policy Mappings table,
initially showing only the default rule.
Note If no Mapping tab appears, the AD mapping interface has not been enabled. Go to the
General tab of the System Administration page and enable the feature.
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3 On the Active Directory Policy Mappings page, click Add Rule to display the Active Directory
Policy Mapping Rule panel in which you enter the rule parameters.
4 Select the Computer Object to Test (Computer, User, or Computer and User) from the
dropdown menu. In most cases, Computer is the best choice.
5 Select the Relationship between the data of the object tested and the Directory Object
specified in the rule.
The choice for this field changes the choices available in the other fields.
In this field, you can specify that objects must be in a OU or domain, a security group, in no
domain, or that they exactly match the directory object you choose (the “is” choice on the
Relationship menu). Generally, it is best to choose a relationship that maps multiple computers
to a policy rather than one that singles out an individual computer or user.
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6 Choose the Directory Object that the data from the tested computer must match.
The browser opens immediately below the Directory object field. The left panel is labeled
Search in, and shows a tree of your AD domains.
n To expand the AD tree in the left panel, click on the plus button next to the node to
expand.
n To collapse the view on the left, click the minus button next to the node to collapse.
b Click the object in the left pane that defines the scope of your search.
Example: If you have two domains, you might click one of them, such as
DC=hq,DC=xycorp,DC=Local.
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c If you see the object in the right panel that you want to use for this rule, double-click it.
The object, including full information about its location in the AD object tree, appears in the
Directory Object field of the Rule Parameters panel and the browser will close.
d If your actions did not automatically close the browser, click the X button in the top right
corner to close it.
There are additional options for using the directory object browser. See AD Object Browser
Options for more information.
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7 From the Policy to Apply dropdown menu, select the policy you want assigned to computers
that meet the requirements of this rule. Only existing policies appear on the dropdown — if
the policy for this rule has not been created yet, cancel the creation of this rule and go to the
Policies page to create the new policy.
8 When you have entered all of the parameters for the rule, click Save. A newly created rule
goes to the bottom of the table of AD rules, just above the default rule, and all rules above
it take precedence. In the example, the rule instructs the Carbon Black App Control server to
assign any computer belonging to the Engineering OU in the domain hq.xyzcorp.local to the
Research Group policy.
Tip Rolling the mouse cursor over the i button next to an object in the Match column provides
a description of the object.
9 When you have additional rules, if necessary, use the up- and down-arrow buttons on the left
side of each rule (or the drag-and-drop method) to change the order in which the rules are
evaluated against a computer. Remember that the [all others] rule always is the last one in the
table.
10 Repeat this procedure beginning with Step 3 for any other rules you need to create.
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There is a default AD Mapping rule that cannot be deleted, nor can it be moved from the bottom
of the Policy Mappings Rule table. It maps “[all others]”, that is, all endpoints that have not
matched any of the other rules in the table, to the policy you select. Because it remains at the
bottom of the table, it assures that any automatically mapped endpoint is assigned to some policy.
It is initially mapped to the Default Policy, but you can change this. Creation of an “AD Default
Policy” is recommended so that endpoints not matching other rules have a policy that best reflects
a default security level that has your preferred settings.
The left panel of the AD Object browser is where you determine the scope of your search. It
displays an AD tree with [All Domains] at the top of the tree . It then shows the contents of the
tree in standard browser format, with +/- buttons at each node that contains other objects so that
you can collapse or expand the tree at that point.
The right panel has a description of what you are searching for, based on the Relationship value
in the Active Directory Policy Rule parameters. When you click a node in the tree on the left, all
objects immediately under that node matching the Relationship (for example, OUs and domains)
display in the right panel. You can click an object in the right panel to select it and enter it in the
Rule Parameters panel.
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n When the Carbon Black App Control agent is first installed, the endpoint will register with the
server for the first time with the users that are logged on at the time. If no users have logged
on since the last time this endpoint was started, the Carbon Black App Control server shows an
empty user list for that agent endpoint.
n When an agent endpoint is restarted, if the Carbon Black App Control agent reconnects to the
server before any user logs in, the user list for that registration will be empty.
n All agent endpoints (whether or not they use automatic policy assignment) re-register when
their list of user sessions changes.
Note Because of the way in which Windows handles sessions, a user’s session on a Windows
endpoint does not necessarily end upon logout. It persists until it is replaced by a different
user's session.
n Agent endpoints are disconnected by the server whenever the server restarts and re-
registered when they reconnect to the server.
n The server disconnects an endpoint (forcing re-registration) when the agent endpoint’s policy
assignment is changed manually, or if it is changed from manual to automatic.
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f you make a change to this AD information on your AD server — for example, changing the group
a computer or user is in, or adding an endpoint — this information normally does not become
available to the Carbon Black App Control server until the next scheduled cache upgrade. If you
have made relevant changes or if you see incorrect policy mapping, you can clear the server cache
so that the Carbon Black App Control server immediately begins updating AD information.
To clear the server cache and update AD information, on the Mappings tab of the Policies page,
click Clear Server Cache in the Actions menu.
If the name is identified as an AD endpoint name, it is highlighted in blue, and when you click
it, the Computer Details page displays. If you click the AD Details tab on this page, the AD
information that is available for that endpoint is displayed.
Similar information is displayed about a user when you click on a highlighted AD username in a
console table.
This methodology allows Carbon Black more flexibility to make improved agents and new rules
available independent of server releases.
As part of this enhancement, Carbon Black App Control includes a new drag-and-drop interface
to add new rule files and agent installers to your server as they become available. This eliminates
complex and error-prone manual installation procedures.
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A user must have Manage system configuration permissions to upload and install agent installers
and rule files.These files are available on the Carbon Black User Exchange. If you have enabled the
Carbon Black File Reputation (CDC) connection from your server and the health indicators option
within the CDC, a health indicator will inform you when agent installers or rule files newer than the
ones you currently have are available.
Important When new rule files and agent installers are uploaded and installed on the server, the
server service is restarted and agent installation package generation is enabled.
However, automatic agent upgrades are also disabled when you upload a new agent installer (but
not a rules file) so they must be re-enabled if you are planning to use automatic upgrades.
Note
n The installers for rule files and agent packages found on the User Exchange are strictly for
upload to the server. They cannot be used directly to install or update agents on endpoints.
n Rule file and agent package installers for upload to the server cannot be installed on pre-8.1.4
servers.
n Rules and agent installation packages must be uploaded to the server one file at a time. If you
drag multiple files into the upload interface simultaneously, the uploads will fail.
n When you use the Update Agent/Rule Version page to upload agent package installers,
generation of agent installer for endpoints is enabled on the server. However, if you use other
methods to update or add agent installers, the installers will not automatically be generated on
the server.
Procedure
1 Log in to the Carbon Black User Exchange and locate the new rules file and agent installer
packages. Links to these packages are found on the Documentation & Downloads area for
Carbon Black App Control on the User Exchange.
2 Download the rules file installer and the agent installer packages for each OS platform in your
environment to a file system that is on or accessible to your Carbon Black App Control server.
These files are named as follows:
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3 Log into your Carbon Black App Control server using an account that has Manage system
configuration permissions.
4 In the console menu, click on the configuration (gear) icon and click Update Agent / Rule
Versions.
5 To install a new rules file on the server, drag the RulesInstaller.exe file from your
download folder into the target zone on the Update Agent / Rule Versions page, or click
Select a file to find the file by using a browser
Important If you are updating the rules file, do not attempt to simultaneously upload any
agent files. Each file upload must be complete before the next one is started.
When the upload begins, the server checks to see whether the package is correctly signed. If it
is, it is installed on the server. Messages report on each stage of the progress (or failure) of the
upload and installation.
6 When the rules upload is complete, repeat the file drag-and-drop or selection process for
each agent installer package to upload to your server.
Important
n Do not simultaneously upload multiple agent files. Each file upload must be complete
before the next one is started. The server restarts after each upload. A success message
appears when the new agent installer package is available.
n Remain on the Update Agent / Rule Version page while uploads are proceeding. You can
go to other pages, but since the server is restarted after the upload, activity on another
page can be interrupted at an unpredictable point.
7 After you have finished uploading rules files and agent installers to a server:
a f you are setting up a new server, set up the policies to control your agents. See "Creating
and Configuring Policies" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide.
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d If you are uploading new agent installers or rules files on an existing server, begin
upgrading agents according to the upgrade plan appropriate to your site. See Chapter
8 Upgrading Agents on Endpoints.
What to do next
Note If you are using Unified Management to manage multiple Carbon Black App Control
servers, you must upload new rule and agent packages to each server separately. The
management server does not broadcast these packages to the managed servers.
Tip You can compare them to the latest versions on the Release Information and Downloads on
VMware Docs.
Procedure
1 On the console menu, click Rules > Policies. The Policies page displays.
2 On the Policies page, click the following link: Click here to view available Carbon Black App
Control Agent / Rules versions. The Installer Versions page displays.
3 Review the version numbers and any status messages for the rules and agent installers.
The Installer Version page shows two key pieces of information for the Windows Agent
installer, macOS Agent installer, Linux Agent installer, and Rules installer that are currently
on the server:
n Version Installed – This is either a version number for the installer in each category, or
None if there is no installer for that item.
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n Package Generation Status – Indicates whether installation packages (that is, the installers
that are used on endpoints) are being generated. Even if there is an agent installer for a
platform (for example, Linux) available on the server, generation of the installer that will be
used on the endpoint might be disabled for that platform. Possible status messages are:
n Enabled – Indicates that a Rules file is available and agent package generation is
enabled for the agent on this platform.
n Disabled due to missing default rules – Indicates that an installer version is uploaded
for the agent on this platform, but installers for endpoints cannot be generated
because no Rules file is uploaded to the server.
n N/A – This appears for the Rules file because package generation is unnecessary for
rules.
4 When you have finished reviewing the versions, click the Go back to the policies page link or
use the console menu to navigate elsewhere.
When the Carbon Black App Control server is upgraded, agent installers are not automatically
upgraded; you must upgrade agents separately. Depending upon your upgrade plans, you might
download and install the new agent version on the endpoint, or allow the Carbon Black App
Control server to manage the upgrade. See Chapter 8 Upgrading Agents on Endpoints for more
details.
Carbon Black App Control agent installers are created in a file format that is appropriate for each
platform:
n ZIP archives for Windows (available only for Windows agent version 8.7.4 and above)
The download page for these packages is accessible through a URL on the server. You can
bookmark this URL and access the page without logging into the console.
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Procedure
1 In the console menu, click Rules > Policies. The Policies page displays:
2 On the Policies page, click the download link at the top of the page.
The publicly accessible URL for this page takes the following format:
https://server_name/hostpkg
3 In the Agent Installation Setup Files table, locate the installer file by policy name.
4 To download the installer, click the platform name (for example, Windows) for the endpoint on
which you want to install the agent; save the file.
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5 When the download is complete, optionally verify the package integrity. See:
The ZIP file contains a VMware Carbon Black signed MSI that contains the agent software and the
files that are associated with the policy information. The signed MSI can be verified using a signing
tool like Microsoft's Signtool.
Procedure
3 Add the location of the Signtool binary to your PATH environment variable.
b Type env.
f At the end of the existing value, add the Signtool location. A semicolon (;) must separate
the old value from the new value. For example:
g Click OK three times to save your changes and exit the editor.
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4 Run the following command, where $file_to_verify is the name of the install package:
n An optional /hash SHA256 parameter instructs Signtool to only check the SHA256
signatures.
n The /all parameter instructs Signtool to check all signatures on the file.
Results
n To verify the digital signatures of the internal binaries, do one or both of the following:
Procedure
1 Execute the following command to verify the integrity of the macOS Agent Installer package:
Package "./${Mac_Package}":
Status: signed by a developer certificate issued by Apple for distribution
Signed with a trusted timestamp on: 2021-10-04 10:35:48 +0000
Certificate Chain:
1. Developer ID Installer: Carbon Black, Inc. (7AGZNQ2S2T)
Expires: 2023-01-09 18:06:36 +0000
SHA256 Fingerprint:
17 A6 E5 4F 0B 7F CE E1 14 7C E8 36 81 DA 31 5D 86 12 4D 93 46 3B
2B 33 33 58 C3 C3 A9 A3 A8 12
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Developer ID Certification Authority
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2 Verify that the Certificate Chain Developer ID Installer is: Carbon Black, Inc.(7AGZNQ2S2T).
Warning If the Certificate Chain Developer ID Installer value is not a match, do not proceed
and contact VMware Carbon Black Support.
3 To verify the digital signatures of the internal binaries, you must first extract the main packages
and internal packages.
n appc-es-loader.app
n b9cli
n b9daemon
n b9kernel.kext
n b9notifier.app
n libcrypto.dylib
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n libssl.dylib
Use the following set of commands to extract each of the main and internal packages:
cd pkg_tmp
cd b9kernel.pkg
cd ..
cd bit9.pkg
4 To use the codesign command to verify the digital signature of the binaries:
A file without signing and notarization does not run on macOS. In this case, the following
output displays:
The following image shows verification of all binaries in the Bit9Agent package using the
codesign command:
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5 To use the spctl command to verify the digital signatures of the binaries, use the following
command:
./${Mac_Binary}: accepted
source=Notarized Developer ID
origin=Developer ID Application: Carbon Black, Inc. (7AGZNQ2S2T)
If the binary does not belong to any .app package, the output shows:
As shown in the following image, rejected output is shown for all binaries except .app files.
In this case, the file is valid — rejection is because file is not an app. Instead of looking
at rejected, you can verify that the Developer ID Application equals: Carbon Black, Inc.
(7AGZNQ2S2T).
The following image shows verification of all the binaries in the Bit9Agent package using the
spctl command.
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About Installing Agents on
Endpoints 2
Before installing a new Carbon Black App Control agent on any platform, review the following
considerations.
n Make sure the computer and operating system on which you are installing the agent is
supported. See the following Operating Environment Requirements guides for agent hardware
requirements and supported OS versions:
n VMware Carbon Black App Control Windows Agent (on Windows Desktop) Operating
Environment Requirements
n VMware Carbon Black App Control Windows Agent (on Windows Server) Operating
Environment Requirements
n VMware Carbon Black App Control Windows Agent (Embedded) Operating Environment
Requirements
n VMware Carbon Black App Control Linux Agent Operating Environment Requirements
n VMware Carbon Black App Control macOS Agent Operating Environment Requirements
n The Carbon Black App Control agent installation process is non-interactive; it requires no
user input. As soon as installation is completed, the Carbon Black App Control agent begins
working — no additional configuration is needed, and in most cases a restart is unnecessary.
n As soon as the agent is installed, the computer is protected by a security policy, and the agent
connects to the server and begins initializing files. Because initialization can involve significant
data flow between the server and its new clients, consider your network capacity and number
of files when planning agent roll-out. Simultaneous agent installation on all endpoints on a
large network is not recommended.
n If you are configuring your App Control Server for the first time, consider setting up a
reference computer with files you know you want to globally approve; you can also use
that computer as a baseline for measuring any file inventory drift. See "Monitoring Change:
Baseline Drift Reports" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide.
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VMware Carbon Black App Control Agent Installation Guide
n Decide how the agent will be installed on this system. You can choose from the following
options:
n Use an existing software deployment mechanism. Although new agent installations are
normally done in non-interactive mode, you can optionally create an interactive end-user
installation experience. If you use a third-party distribution system to install agents, follow
all recommended procedures. For Windows installations, disable any possible MSI or MSP
transformations inside your distribution system (such as SCCM).
n Have a system administrator or other qualified person manually install the agent software
on each endpoint.
n Allow users to install the agent software themselves. Send e-mail to users associated with
each policy, and instruct them to browse to the agent download URL or another shared
location, download the specific installer file for their policy, and run the installation on their
computers. No interaction is needed – the installation runs without prompts and then the
agent begins to initialize files.
n The agent installer must be run by a user with the appropriate administrative rights. On
Windows, this can be either by Local System or by a user account that has administrative
rights and a loadable user profile. On macOS and Linux, the user must be able to use sudo.
n Make sure your server has the latest agents and rules; see Uploading Agent Installers and
Rules to the Server.
n Be sure to download the correct installation package for your policy and platform; see
Downloading Agent Installers. If you are using AD-based policy assignment, a platform-
specific agent installer for any policy that allows automatic policy assignment can be used.
n Although the console prevents creation of policies whose names have generally known invalid
characters, examine the policy name to see whether it contains characters that might require
special handling (such as escaping in a command line) on your specific platform.
During Initialization, the App Control agent will ignore the One Drive directory, thus leaving all
of the files inside it as unknown.
Note
n VMware Carbon Black does not recommend storing executables in the cloud. In the event that
a file is executed from the cloud, the agent treats the file as unknown.
n Support for OneDrive is enabled by default. To disable OneDrive support, contact VMware
Carbon Black Support.
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Installing Windows Agents on
Endpoints 3
As an MSI package or a ZIP archive, you can customize an agent installer for Windows, including
modification of the installation directory.
Refer to the Microsoft MSI documentation for information about configuration options. The
installer for Windows is named in the following way, varying by policy:
n policyname.msi
n policyname.zip
Note
n The use of Windows Installer Transform files (.mst) is not supported with the agent installer on
Windows clients.
n Windows Installer Patch files (.msp) are no longer used for build-to-build agent upgrades. Be
sure to update any scripts that refer to these files.
n Make sure that the agent is being installed on a supported Windows operating system. See:
n VMware Carbon Black App Control Windows Agent (on Windows Desktop) Operating
Environment Requirements
n VMware Carbon Black App Control Windows Agent (on Windows Server) Operating
Environment Requirements
n VMware Carbon Black App Control Windows Agent (Embedded) Operating Environment
Requirements
n See also the Release Notes at Carbon Black App Control Documentation for your version
of Carbon Black App Control for any special considerations.
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VMware Carbon Black App Control Agent Installation Guide
Using Group Policy to deploy software is a common method that is well documented. For
example, see How to use Group Policy to remotely install software in Windows Server
Some network latency issues have occasionally been reported when deploying agents using a
GPO. If you intend to deploy your Carbon Black App Control agents by using a GPO, please
consider the following:
n Make sure that the MSI is copied to a local drive and called with a fully-qualified path.
n Do not let the deployment monitor for the presence of the expected version. This will break
upgrades that are deployed through the console because SCCM, etc. will want to roll back any
upgrades.
n To reduce network traffic, copy the installer first and then install the agent locally.
Finally, if you continue to experience network latency issues after implementing the previous
suggestions, consider wrapping the agent installer in another script. This is most commonly done
by using a batch file that copies the installer locally and then executes it. For example:
@ECHO OFF
If you continue to experience problems deploying the installer using a GPO, contact VMware
Carbon Black Support.
Prerequisites
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VMware Carbon Black App Control Agent Installation Guide
Procedure
1 On the endpoint, run the Windows agent installer. You can use any standard means for
installing using MSI files, with the following considerations:
n To accept the default application directory, use any MSI installation method, including
double-clicking the MSI filename.
n If you are installing the agent manually or by using a third-party distribution system and
want to specify a non-default data directory, do not choose a data directory that is below
the main program installation directory. Putting the data directory under the installation
directory will cause the agent to malfunction and disconnect.
During Windows agent installation, the installer displays a message dialog that closes
automatically when installation is complete. This dialog includes a Cancel button, so you can
end the installation before it completes if necessary.
2 To verify the agent installation, open Task Manager and click the Services tab. You should see
Parity running.
3 If you run anti-virus (AV) software, exclude the Carbon Black App Control agent installation
directory from anti-virus scanning. For enhanced security, Carbon Black App Control protects
its application directory. To avoid performance issues, configure your AV software so that the
following files and directories are not scanned or blocked:
n Program Files\Bit9 – the default agent program directory on 32-bit systems; if you did
not use the default directory, substitute the directory you selected
n Program Files (x86)\Bit9 – the default agent program directory on 64-bit systems; if
you did not use the default directory, substitute the directory you selected
4 Firewalls often recognize the agent as a new application and block access to the network.
Instruct users to permanently allow the agent to have access.
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In some cases, you install or upgrade agents by using an installer that was created in the
Carbon Black App Control console for a specific policy, in which case the policy and server
information is built into the installer. In other cases, you might use the “unbranded” agent installer,
ParityHostAgent.msi, which does not include this information. With the unbranded installer,
you can provide custom parameters.
To create custom MSIEXEC commands for agent installation, be aware of the standard MSIEXEC
parameters youcan use, such as /quiet or /qn for automatic installations without prompts. See
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490936.aspx for a list of those parameters.
In addition to standard MSIEXEC syntax, you must use parameters that are specific to Carbon
Black App Control agent installation. The following table shows these parameters. They can be
used to modify an agent installation in various ways.
Example: The following syntax installs an agent and overrides the server defaults to connect to a
specific server:
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B9_CONFIG=https://<serveraddress>/hostpkg/
pkg.php?pkg=configlist.xml
B9_SERVER_PORT=41002
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B9_SERVER_ID This parameter sets the value for the Carbon Black App
Control Server ID. Set during installation to manually
establish the ID setting if the msi package being used is
unbranded. This value is the serverIDString property on
the shepherd_config.php page in the console.
Example:
B9_SERVER_ID={b9}cu+ox2O9/
EvVtKe+eMlkwVqpiy+kJsgs+opq8jjFWZw=
B9_SERVER_IP This parameter sets the address of the Carbon Black App
Control server. You can use it to manually establish the
location setting for unbranded agent installer packages.
Example:
B9_SERVER_IP=server2.mycorp.local
B9_HOSTGROUP This parameter sets the policy for the agent. You can use
it to manually establish the policy setting for unbranded
agent installer packages.
Example:
B9_HOSTGROUP=Monitor
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n If you are using DFS and have installed an agent on a Windows 2003 or XP system, you must
reboot the endpoint to get full enforcement of Carbon Black App Control file rules. Because of
an operating system limitation, DFS operations (including file executions) cannot be detected
by the agent until the system has been rebooted. In this case, the Upgrade Status column on
the Computers page shows Reboot Required for the affected endpoint.
n On any version of Windows, if a file is in use by another application when the Carbon Black
App Control installer tries to write that file, the system schedules the file to be replaced on next
reboot, and the console shows Reboot Required for the affected endpoint.
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Installing Linux Agents on
Endpoints 4
For Linux endpoints, you install the Carbon Black App Control agent by running a script after
extracting the appropriate TGZ archive. Carbon Black App Control server supports agents on
Linux endpoints that are running Red Hat and CentOS versions, both of which use the same
installation file.
Make sure your Linux endpoint is compatible with the Carbon Black App Control agent; see
VMware Carbon Black App Control Linux Agent Operating Environment Requirements.
See also the Release Notes at Carbon Black App Control Documentation for your version of
Carbon Black App Control for any special considerations.
Linux agent installation files are tarballs named by policy and operating system, such as
policyname-redhat.tgz.
VMware Carbon Black recommends disabling Prelinking on RedHat and CentOS computers
before installing agents. Prelinking has negative impacts on performance and Carbon Black App
Control features (see the Release Notes at Carbon Black App Control Documentation). However,
if you must enable Prelinking on your RedHat and CentOS systems, enable the RedHat Prelinking
updater before installing agents. See "Approving by Updater" in the VMware Carbon Black App
Control User Guide for instructions on enabling updaters.
Note Although not required for the initial agent installation, gawk and unzip are required for Linux
agent upgrades that are initiated by the Carbon Black App Control server. If necessary, update the
Linux distribution to include them before installing the agent.
The agent is normally installed with a GUI-based blocked file notifier. This notifier appears when a
user attempts to take an action that is either totally blocked by the agent or that requires a user
decision about allowing it to proceed. For Linux endpoints that are not running a graphic interface
package, or if you prefer to eliminate user interaction for some other reason, the agent for Linux
can be installed without the notifier. You can add the -n option as a flag on the installation script
command for the agent, as shown in Install Linux Agents on Endpoints.
On an endpoint that you run without the notifier, install an agent with a Low or High Enforcement
policy. Agents in Medium Enforcement policies prompt users to allow or block many actions, and
this prompt is not available without a notifier.
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Prerequisites
n uploaded agent and rule packages as described in Uploading Agent Installers and Rules to the
Server.
n created one or more security policies for your agents as described in "Creating and
Configuring Policies" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide.
n For AD-based policy assignment, use an installer for any policy with automatic policy
assignment enabled.
n The same downloaded agent installer can be used on multiple endpoints, and can also be
distributed to endpoints via SSH or other distribution mechanisms.
In addition, make sure that the user account being used to install the agent has administrative
rights, or that the user can use sudo.
Before you install the Carbon Black App Control agent on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0
Endpoint:
n Install the initscripts RPM manually or connect the host to Red Hat network.
n Upgrade the Carbon Black App Control server to version 8.9.0 or later.
n If you are using a Carbon Black App Control server deployed on Windows Server 2012, please
update the DH modulus to 2048 bytes as described in https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/
security-updates/SecurityAdvisories/2016/3174644.
Procedure
1 Extract and uncompress the agent tarball archive for the policy for this computer. If the policy
name contains characters that are not accepted in command arguments, such as spaces or
parentheses, escape these characters with a backslash.
cd <policyname>-redhat
3 Where the Carbon Black App Control Server version is earlier than 8.9.2, download the
Carbon Black App Control SHA256 based public key as bit9cs_sha2.asc and place it in the
same folder as b9install.sh.
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4 Validate the b9install script with public key and detached signature with the following
commands:
If the result contains ( gpg: Good signature from "bit9build (bit9cs) ), then the script is valid
and you can proceed with the next steps.
5 Use sudo to run the agent installation shell script using the selected shell, adding the -n option
if you do not want the blocked file notifier installed. For more information about the -n option,
see Chapter 4 Installing Linux Agents on Endpoints.
sudo sh ./b9install.sh
sudo sh ./b9install.sh -n
Important If the output message states, "validation failed," it means that the rpm signature is
not valid.
6 If you run anti-virus software, exclude the Carbon Black App Control agent installation
directory from anti-virus scanning. For enhanced security, Carbon Black App Control protects
its own application directory. To avoid performance problems, use whatever mechanism is
provided by your anti-virus software vendor to specify that the following directories or files are
not scanned:
7 Firewalls can recognize Carbon Black App Control software as a new application and block
access to the network. Instruct users running the agent to permanently allow it access.
8 To verify the agent installation, run ps aux | grep b9 in a command window. You should see
b9daemon running.
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What to do next
See "Endpoint Notifiers and Approval Requests" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User
Guide for a description of what the user sees on an endpoint that is protected by the agent.
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Installing macOS Agents on
Endpoints 5
This section describes how to install macOS agents on endpoints.
Make sure your macOS system is compatible with the Carbon Black App Control agent; see
VMware Carbon Black App Control macOS Agent Operating Environment Requirements.
See also the Release Notes at Carbon Black App Control Documentation for your version of
Carbon Black App Control for any special considerations.
For macOS endpoints, you install the Carbon Black App Control agent by using the appropriate
installer DMG file. Installers for macOS are named as follows, varying by policy: policyname-
mac.dmg.
For systems running macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or later, and earlier than macOS BigSur 11x, you must
allow the agent kernel extension as described in Allow the Agent Kernel Extension During Agent
Installation or Upgrade or Kernel Extension Supporting macOS Versions.
Prerequisites
n uploaded agent and rule packages as described in Uploading Agent Installers and Rules to the
Server.
n created one or more security policies for your agents as described in "Creating and
Configuring Policies" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide.
n For AD-based policy assignment, use an installer for any policy with automatic policy
assignment enabled.
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VMware Carbon Black App Control Agent Installation Guide
n The same downloaded agent installer can be used on multiple endpoints, and can also be
distributed to endpoints via SSH or other distribution mechanisms like Casper.
n Verify installer integrity as described in macOS Agent Installer Integrity and Signature
Verification.
Procedure
1 Open a Finder window and change directory to the location where the installer was
downloaded (by default, the user-specific Download directory).
3 Respond to the installation dialog prompts, and when the dialog indicates the installation was
successful, click Close. The agent begins operating immediately.
4 To verify the agent installation, run Activity Monitor and view All Processes. You should see
b9daemon running.
5 If you run anti-virus software, exclude the Carbon Black App Control agent installation
directory from anti-virus scanning. For enhanced security, Carbon Black App Control protects
its application directory. To avoid performance problems, specify in your anti-virus software
that the following directories are not scanned
6 Add the following AV exclusion entries for Carbon Black App Control 8.7 and later agents for
the macOS supporting system extension:
n Bundle ID : com.vmware.carbonblack.appc-es-loader.appc-es-extension
n Path : /Applications/Bit9/Agent/appc-es-loader.app/Contents/MacOS/appc-es-loader
7 The macOS firewall can detect the agent as a new application and block access to the network.
Instruct users to permanently allow incoming connections to b9daemon.
8 Enable the macOS System Updates updater, which allows minor updates to the OS to be
approved for installation. Be sure you are running at least version 9 of this updater. You can
enable updaters on the Software Rules > Updaters page.
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What to do next
See "Endpoint Notifiers and Approval Requests" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User
Guide for a description of what the user sees on an endpoint that is protected by the agent.
n The macOS agent daemon b9daemon (display name) must have Full Disk Access (FDA)
enabled. See Enable Full Disk Access (FDA) with MDM
n M1 Support: System extension support is provided for M1 (Apple Silicon) and Intel Hardware
starting with macOS 11.0 BigSur & onwards.
n macOS 11.x (Big Sur) is not supported on any Carbon Black App Control macOS agent 8.5.0
and earlier.
n macOS 12.x (Monterey) is not supported on any Carbon Black App Control macOS agent prior
to 8.7.0.
n System Extensions are supported for macOS 11.0 BigSur and higher versions from Carbon
Black App Control agent 8.7.0.
n Kernel Extensions are supported for macOS 11.0 BigSur and earlier versions until Carbon Black
App Control agent 8.6.0.
n Full Disk Access: After installation or upgrade to Carbon Black App Control 8.7 (or later),
the user must give full disk access to system extension and other agent binaries to make
production function properly.
n Installation using BSX on Monterey Platform: In case of manual or MDM based installation
using BSX file on macOS 12 Monterey, use the command line sudo LC_ALL=C bash <bsx path>
if sudo bash <bsx path> is not working.
n After installing or upgrading a Carbon Black App Control macOS agent 8.5/8.6, manual
approval of KEXT is required on macOS 11.x Big Sur. After manual approval of KEXT, reboot
the endpoint.
n After installing or upgrading a Carbon Black App Control macOS agent 8.7 and onwards,
manual approval of SE is required on macOS 11.x Big Sur and later.
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VMware Carbon Black App Control Agent Installation Guide
n After installing or upgrading a Carbon Black App Control macOS agent 8.5/8.6 on an endpoint
running macOS 11.x Big Sur, a reboot of the endpoint is required. See Enterprise management
of legacy system extensions in macOS Big Sur (https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT211860).
Note Reboot is not required for Carbon Black App Control macOS versions earlier than
macOS 11.x Big Sur.
n If you are using the console to upgrade or install Carbon Black App Control macOS agents
8.5/8.6 running macOS 11.x Big Sur, then your administrator must add post-installation MDM
policies to reboot the macOS 11.x Big Sur machines after installation or upgrade.
n Upgrade workflow for macOS agent 7.3.x and any macOS prior to 11.x Big Sur:
If... Then...
macOS Agent 7.3.x is installed and macOS is lower than Case 1: OS Upgrade to Big Sur: We recommend that you
11.x (Big Sur) upgrade the macOS agent to 8.5 or later first, and then
upgrade the macOS to 11.x (Big Sur).
Case 2: OS Upgrade to Monterey or later: We recommend
that you upgrade the macOS agent to 8.7.0 or later first,
and then upgrade the macOS to 12.x (Monterey) or later.
You upgrade the macOS to 11.x Big Sur or later before The macOS agent will not work. In this scenario, you must:
upgrading the macOS agent to 8.x 1 Uninstall the 7.3.x macOS agent.
2 Reboot the endpoint.
3 Install macOS agent:
Procedure
1 Go to Rules -> Policies and select the download URL at the top of the page.
Alternatively, you can access a publicly accessible URL for this page using the following
format: https://<server_name>/hostpkg.
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2 On the Download Agent Install Packages page, click the macOS platform name and save the
file. When the download is complete, you can install the agent.
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8 When the installation is complete, a prompt displays that "The installation was successful."
However, an additional notification states: System Extension Blocked. Click Open Security
Preferences.
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VMware Carbon Black App Control Agent Installation Guide
9 In the Security & Privacy pane of the System Preferences app, click the lock to authorize
changes and then click Allow to unblock appc_es_loader.
10 Some binaries from the package need Full Disk Access (FDA) to function correctly. To provide
that access:
a Open the System Preferences app and go to the Security & Privacy pane.
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Clicking + opens Finder where the b9notifier and b9daemon binaries are located and
opened:
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VMware Carbon Black App Control Agent Installation Guide
d Repeat steps 10a. through 10c. for the binaries that require FDA.
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VMware Carbon Black App Control Agent Installation Guide
Deploying macOS App Control Agents Using Jamf Pro (Big Sur+)
You can use Jamf Pro to deploy the macOS App Control agent on macOS systems that are
running Big Sur or higher OS.
Important This Jamf Pro procedure is offered as guidance only. VMware does not provide official
support of Jamf software.
We recommend that you use the latest macOS App Control agent version for your deployment.
The configuration documented here was tested using the following versions:
n Jamf Admin
3 Create a Package Using Jamf Composer and Upload macOS agent DMG to Jamf Pro.
4 Deploy Package using a Jamf Pro Software Distribution Policy that subsequently deploys a
package that you created in Jamf Pro to a temporary location. The policy executes the the
installer package.
Procedure
n Name: We recommend that you include the Extension (Kernel or System) method that is
being used.
n Description: Optional.
n Category: None
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VMware Carbon Black App Control Agent Installation Guide
2 In the Privacy Preferences Policy Control section, enter the following App Access sub-
payloads:
To ensure full functionality of the macOS agent, enter each App Access sub-payload from the
following table. For all sub-payloads, the Identifier Type is Bundle ID, and the Application or
Service is SystemPolicyAllFiles with Access set to Allow.
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VMware Carbon Black App Control Agent Installation Guide
anchor apple
generic and
certificate
1[field.1.2.840.11
3635.100.6.2.6] /*
exists
*/ and
certificate
leaf[field.1.2.840
.113635.100.6.1.13
] /* exists */
and
certificate
leaf[subject.OU]
= "7AGZNQ2S2T"
1[field.1.2.840.11
3635.100.6.2.6] /*
exists */ and
certificate
leaf[field.1.2.840
.113635.100.6.1.13
] /* exists */
and certificate
leaf[subject.OU]
=
"7AGZNQ2S2T"
1[field.1.2.840.11
3635.100.6.2.6] /
* exists */ and
certificate
leaf[field.1.2.840
.113635.100.6.1.13
] /* exists */
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VMware Carbon Black App Control Agent Installation Guide
and certificate
leaf[subject.OU]
=
"7AGZNQ2S2T"
Ensure each of the App Access sub-payloads are entered from the preceding table. Without
the access specified, various parts of the Carbon Black App Control agent will not function
properly.
The Privacy Preferences Policy control sub-payloads should look like this:
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Note For a System Extenstions support matrix, see: Kext and System Extension Support.
Allow Users to approve system extensions (optional) – This setting depends on whether the Jamf
administrator wants to allow System Extensions from other products to be user-approved. If this
setting is enabled, users can approve additional system extensions that are not explicitly allowed
by this policy.
n As shown in following example, you can toggle Allow users to approve system extension to
control the users approval action for any System Extension of any product.
n You can add System Extensions on the Allowed Team ID and System Extensions tab. These
System Extensions do not require user approval. In the following example, we explicitly
added the Carbon Black App Control System Extension payload, which does not require user
approval.
Example:
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Prerequisites
This procedure assumes you have downloaded the agent and mounted the DMG file. If not, do the
following:
1 Obtain the macOS agent by following the instructions in Download an Agent Installer.
3 Open the mounted folder (for example, Bit9 Agent) using Finder, and press
Command+Shift+. to see the hidden config.xml and server.conf files in the mount point.
Procedure
2 Copy the following files from the mounted folder (for example, Bit9 Agent) to /
private/tmp/appc folder.
n config.xml
n server.conf
3 Open Jamf Composer, navigate to Preferences > Exclusion List, remove /private/tmp from
the list, and save the settings.
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4 Copy the appc folder to the SOURCES folder on the left in Composer.
5 With the appc folder selected under SOURCES on the left in Composer, click Build as DMG,
and save locally, for example in the Desktop location.
When the package is built, appc.dmg is listed under PACKAGES on the left in Composer.
6 To verify the appc.dmg package details, such as the creation date, in the Desktop location in
Finder, click appc.dmg.
Results
What to do next
Use Jamf Admin to upload the macOS agent DMG and installation script to Jamf Pro.
Prerequisites
This procedure requires a DMG package created in Jamf Composer. If you have not created one,
see: Create a Package Using Jamf Composer
Procedure
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What to do next
You must create a software distribution policy in Jamf Pro and assign it to the DMG package. See:
Deploy Package using a Jamf Pro Software Distribution Policy
Prerequisites
This procedure requires that you previously Create a Package Using Jamf Composer and Upload
macOS agent DMG to Jamf Pro.
Procedure
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3 Click New to create a new software distribution policy and specify the following:
2 From the Category drop-down list, select the respective category or leave it as
Unknown.
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4 Click Save.
5 To verify successful deployment of package, check the logs of software distribution policy.
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You must set the scope of two smart computer groups to the configuration profile and software
policy. This scope ensures that the configuration profile is deployed to the endpoint before you
install the Carbon Black App Control macOS agent. If you deploy the Carbon Black App Control
agent without having deployed the configuration profile, the user receives approval prompts. If
the prompts are not approved, the agent is not fully functional.
Note Before you can select the Carbon Black App Control Settings Configuration Profile in
the second smart group (steps 5 through 10), you must first deploy the configuration profile to
a macOS endpoint and update the endpoint inventory. After Jamf Pro recognizes the installed
configuration profile, the profile becomes a selectable option when you are creating the smart
computer group.
Procedure
1 On the Jamf Pro dashboard, on the Computers tab, click Smart Computer Groups and then
click + New.
2 On the Computer Group tab, enter a name such as “macOS Big Sur Computers”.
n Operator: like
n Value: 11
5 On the Jamf Pro dashboard, on the Computer tab, click Smart Computer Groups and then
click + New.
6 On the Computer Group tab, enter a name such as “Carbon Black App Control Settings”.
n Operator: Has
n Value: Click the … menu and select the Carbon Black App Control Settings – System
Extension Configuration Profile.
9 For the configuration profile, assign the “macOS Big Sur computers” smart computer group
to the scope.
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10 For the policy, assign the “Carbon Black App Control Settings” smart computer group to the
scope.
Important If deploying the Kernel Extension, you must approve it after it is installed in System
Preferences>Security & Privacy. This is an Apple-imposed requirement. This approval is not
required if deploying the System Extension. We recommend that you ask the user to approve
this extension by using a notification in the deployment policy.
X = Supported
Allowing the X X
Agent Kernel
Extension
(Mojave or Later)
System X X
Extensions
Approval using
Jamf
Allowing the X X X
Agent Kernel
Extension
(Mojave or Later)
System
Extensions
Approval using
Jamf
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The macOS version 10.13 (High Sierra) introduced changes in the way kernel extensions are
handled.
If you are installing or upgrading the Carbon Black App Control agent on any version of macOS
10.14 (or later), additional steps are needed to approve the Carbon Black, Inc. system extension,
which is required for proper operation of the agent.
This is true for manual agent installations and upgrades as well as those initiated from the Carbon
Black App Control console
Note This requirement does not apply if you are using a version of macOS prior to 10.13, and if
you are using Carbon Black App Control agent 8.7+ on macOS 11.x or later.For a KEXT support
matrix, see: Kext and System Extension Support
Procedure
For non-MDM installations on Mojave (or later), while you are running the Carbon Black App
Control agent installer, macOS will report that a system extension signed by Carbon Black,
Inc. was blocked. This will happen even if the extension is already approved on the system.
2 When this message appears, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy on the macOS
system and click the Allow button for "Carbon Black, Inc.".
(This was ‘Bit9, Inc.’ for agents prior to 7.2.3 Patch 12.)
Important It is possible that you delay or are unable to allow the kernel extension
immediately after agent installation or upgrade. For example, you might automatically upgrade
unattended endpoints.
If you do not allow the kernel extension, agent installation continues, and the upgraded agent
will connect to the server, but it will not enforce rules until you allow the extension to load. On
the Carbon Black App Control console, this agent will show a status of Unprotected, Reboot
Required. In this case, complete the steps in Allow the Agent Kernel Extension After Agent
Installation or Upgrade on Kernel Extension Supporting macOS Versions.
Allow the Agent Kernel Extension After Agent Installation or Upgrade on Kernel
Extension Supporting macOS Versions
Perform the following procedure to allow the agent kernel extension after agent installation or
upgrade (for Mojave or later macOS versions).
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Procedure
1 Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy on the endpoint and click the Allow button for
"Carbon Black, Inc.".
2 Restart the agent by rebooting the endpoint or by manually stopping and restarting the agent
using the following steps in a terminal:
cd /opt/bit9/bin
./b9cli -tamperprotect 0
./b9cli -shutdown
Note You must run the startup step as root or using sudo.
This procedure requires you to create a Configuration Profile with a Privacy Preferences Policy
Control (PPPC) payload in your MDM (for example, Workspace One UEM, Jamf®, or any other
MDM). This allows you to pre-approve application privacy permissions in your environment.
Note The following instructions use Jamf. Modify the instructions as needed to adjust for other
MDM solutions.
Procedure
a For Name, give the profile a name that helps explain what application it is giving rights to.
In this example, we use the name of the product followed by “PPPC”.
e Navigate from the General tab to the Privacy Preferences Policy Control tab.
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h For Code Requirement, enter the following code exactly as it is stated here:
Note If you do not enter this code correctly, this procedure for enabling FDA will not work
properly.
i Under App or Service, select SystemPolicyAllFiles and under Access, select Allow.
3 Deploy and use this policy to enable FDA for all your macOS endpoints.
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Verify the Agent Installation
6
Perform the following procedure to verify that connected endpoints are running the Carbon Black
App Control agent and are visible to the Carbon Black App Control server.
Procedure
2 Examine the Computers page, which lists all endpoints running agent software, for the name
or IP address of each endpoint you want to confirm. You can use the Search field to find each
endpoint of interest.
If the policy was assigned by Active Directory, the policy will have dashes at the beginning and
end of its name. Also note the Connected and Policy Status columns to determine whether
the machine is up-to-date.
Note During file initialization for a newly installed agent, the endpoint is already protected at
the Enforcement Level associated with its policy.
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Post-installation Activities
7
After you have installed the Carbon Black App Control agent on endpoints and initialization is
complete, there are many ways to monitor and manage your endpoints.
n Viewing Endpoint Details – Carbon Black App Control server keeps details about each
endpoint running a Carbon Black App Control agent, including the endpoint’s IP address,
whether it is currently connected to the server, the policy, mode and Enforcement Level it is
assigned, computer model and system details, and its connection history. See "Viewing the
Table of Computers" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide.
n Viewing Endpoint-related Events – You can monitor events related to a specific endpoint.
See "Event Reports" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide.
n Changing Policy – You can change the security policy assigned to an endpoint if necessary.
See "Moving Computers to Another Policy" and "Restoring Computers from the Default
Policy" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide.
n Creating Clones – If you plan to use an endpoint as the template for cloning other endpoints,
see "Managing Virtual Machines" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide.
n Locally Approving Files – You can temporarily put an endpoint into Local Approval mode
so that files with a global state of Unapproved on the Carbon Black App Control server can
be installed locally and locally approved on this endpoint. See "Moving a Computer to Local
Approval Mode" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide.
n Viewing Details of Connected Devices – You can track and manage fixed and removable
storage devices on agent-managed endpoints that are running Windows or macOS. See
"Viewing Devices on Computers" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide for
more details.
n Saving a Snapshot – After agent installation and initialization is complete, you can instruct
the Carbon Black App Control server to save a named snapshot of all files (by hash) on this
endpoint currently inventoried by your server. This provides a reference point for analyzing
changes in file inventory for that endpoint, other endpoints, or your whole network. See
"Creating and Modifying Snapshots" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide for
more details.
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Upgrading Agents on Endpoints
8
After new agents are available on the Carbon Black App Control server, there are several ways to
upgrade the agent on endpoints.
n Enable automatic agent upgrades on a per-policy basis, thereby allowing the server to
manage the upgrade process.
n From the Carbon Black App Control console, initiate agent upgrades on one or more specific
endpoints.
Note Beginning with Carbon Black App Control 8.1.4, agent installers and the rule file that
determines their behavior are no longer included as part of an Carbon Black App Control server
installation. You must upload the rule file and agent installer packages separately after you install
the server.
See Uploading Agent Installers and Rules to the Server for details on uploading agent rule files
and installer packages.
Important Carbon Black App Control supports installation of agents only on systems listed in the
following operating environment requirements guides:
n VMware Carbon Black App Control Windows Agent (on Windows Desktop) Operating
Environment Requirements
n VMware Carbon Black App Control Windows Agent (on Windows Server) Operating
Environment Requirements
n VMware Carbon Black App Control Windows Agent (Embedded) Operating Environment
Requirements
n VMware Carbon Black App Control Linux Agent Operating Environment Requirements
n VMware Carbon Black App Control macOS Agent Operating Environment Requirements
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In addition to including new features, each agent release generally includes performance and
security enhancements.
The console displays a message when the presence of older agents affects the displayed data or
possible actions on a particular page.
To upgrade these operating systems to Carbon Black App Control agent version 8.7.4 of the App
Control agent customers must perform one of the following tasks.
Note If the root certificate is not trusted (using Option 1 or 2), the following error will still occur:
CERT_TRUST_IS_UNTRUSTED_ROOT.
Install the certificates on your machines directly using MMC with the Certificates snap-in, or use
GPO. The root certificate should be imported to the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store.
The intermediate certificate should go to the Intermediate Certification Authorities store. These
should be imported at the machine level as opposed to the user level.
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https://community.carbonblack.com/t5/Knowledge-Base/App-Control-How-can-I-ignore-partial-
cert-chain-errors/ta-p/73892
n For each policy that contains agents you do not want to upgrade now, make sure the Allow
upgrades checkbox in the Options section of the Add Policy or Edit Policy page is not
checked.
n For each policy that has agents you do want to upgrade, check the Allow upgrades box in the
Options section of the Add Policy or Edit Policy page. Avoid doing this for a large number of
agents simultaneously (see the following Important note).
Important
n Before you re-enable system-wide agent upgrades, be sure you disable upgrades for policies
that you do not want upgraded immediately.
n Simultaneous upgrade of a large number of agents can impact system performance. Contact
VMware Carbon Black Support for best practices regarding bulk agent upgrades.
n When a Carbon Black App Control server is upgraded, ongoing enhancements to interesting
file identification make it necessary to rescan the fixed drives on all agent-managed endpoints.
These upgrades also require a new inventory of files in any trusted directories to determine
whether there are previously ignored files that are now considered interesting. This process
can cause considerable input/output activity, which can require between minutes and many
hours, depending upon the number of agents and the number of files.
For upgrades managed by the Carbon Black App Control server and those using third-party
distribution methods, VMware Carbon Black recommends a gradual upgrade of agents to
avoid an unacceptable impact on network and server performance.
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This action has the same effect as running the upgrade from the installer file. Use of this feature
requires the following:
n Automatic Agent Upgrades must be Enabled on the Advanced Options tab of the System
Administration page. The Upgrade Computers action does not display on the menu unless this
is enabled.
n The agent(s) must be at least at version 7.0.0 — upgrades from older agents are not
supported.
Note Agents that are disconnected from their server at the time of a console-based upgrade are
upgraded the next time they are connected.
Procedure
1 In the console, click the configuration (gear) icon and then click System Configuration.
3 On the Advanced Options tab, if the Automatic Agent Upgrades field is Disabled, click the
Edit button. and then click Enabled on the Automatic Agent Upgrades menu. Click Update.
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5 Find the endpoint(s) you want to upgrade and check the checkboxes next to their names.
Check the Upgrade Status to make sure the endpoints are capable of upgrade and not already
up to date.
7 In the confirmation dialog, click OK to initiate the upgrade. Watch the description of the
endpoint in the table to see when the change is completed.
Note
n This topic describes just one workflow that you can use to install the macOS agent.
n Jamf is used here to automate the process; however, other tools can also be used.
n These instructions apply to macOS agent upgrades only. If you are installing new agents for
the first time, see Chapter 1 Preparing for Agent Installation or Update and Chapter 5 Installing
macOS Agents on Endpoints.
Use the following policy workflow to upgrade your macOS endpoints with a new version of the
Carbon Black App Control macOS agent.
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This upgrade method uses a set of three MDM polices. Although you can use a single policy to
accomplish this task, using multiple policies serves as an error check safeguard.
For the following MDM policies to work, you must be able to detect the version of Carbon Black
App Control and the status of Tamper Protect on scoped agent machines. You can do this by
using two extension attributes that run a b9cli –status and then grep the data needed.
n MDM Policy One: The first MDM policy disables Tamper Protect on the agent machines that
are to be upgraded. This policy uses the data you grepped from the b9cli –status command
to determine the state of the agent. If Tamper Protect is enabled, this policy disables it. To
disable Tamper Protect, you must use the global password for your agents.)
n MDM Policy Two: The second MDM policy upgrades the Carbon Black App Control macOS
gent on any endpoint that has Tamper Protect disabled. This policy uses the data grepped
from the b9cli –status command to determine this required information. This policy also
runs the Bit9MacInstall.bsx.pkg, which performs the agent upgrade. When this script is
completed, there is no need to restart the agent endpoint being upgraded.
n MDM Policy Three: The third MDM policy restores Tamper Protection on upgraded agent
endpoints. This policy will be set to any computer that has Tamper Protect disabled. This
policy uses the information grepped from b9cli –status.
Agent installation files are located on the Carbon Black App Control server:
Note
n Manual upgrades must be run either by Local System or by a user account that has
administrative rights and a loadable user profile.
n Manual upgrades must use a full path to the installer in the MSIEXEC command.
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When a Carbon Black App Control server manages upgrades to 8.8.2 agents, the agents receive
a new list of rules. For manual agent upgrades and upgrades using a third-party distribution
method, major upgrades require that the file containing the new rules, configlist.xml, be
copied to a location accessible to the agent installer. On the Carbon Black App Control server, this
file is located in the same hostpkg folder as the agent installer, but it does not have a link on the
Downloads page. It must be manually copied or referenced with a URL or path in the installer.
The following procedure assumes that you use the default values for parameters that would
be used by an automatic upgrade run by using the server. Command Line Installations of
Windows Agents shows parameters that can allow non-default configurations of an installation
using MSIEXEC.
Procedure
1 Log in to the console from the endpoint on which you want to download the installer.
2 On the console menu, click Rules > Policies and then click the Download agent software link
at the top of the Policies page.
3 Download the agent upgrade installer file ParityHostAgent.msi to the location from which
you want to run or distribute the upgrade.
For example, to use a URL, you can click Rules > Policies in the console, click the Download
agent software link, and edit the URL for the download page as follows:
5 (Optional) Follow the same procedure to download the new Carbon Black App Control rules
list (configlist.xml) to a location that is accessible to the agent installer, or make sure that
the agent installer system can access the hostpkg folder on the Carbon Black App Control
server.
To use a URL, enter the following text into a browser on the endpoint to which you want to
download the file:
Note If you are using a command line argument to upgrade the agent, you do not necessarily
have to download configlist.xml. You can use the preceding URL as an argument in the
command line. See Step 7.
6 If you are manually upgrading a single endpoint, move the configlist.xml file to the
agent data folder. This is usually C:\ProgramData\Bit9\Parity Agent. Run the installer;
for example, ParityHostAgent.msi.
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7 If you are preparing to upgrade agents by using a third-party distribution system, you can use
that system to distribute the configlist.xml file to the agent folder on all agents, or you
can use command line arguments in MSIEXEC to include the new rules file in the upgrade
installations. A command line for such an upgrade using ParityHostAgent.msi might look
like the following:
You can use a URL, a UNC path, or a full local path in the command to specify the location of
configlist.xml. You cannot use a relative path or a file name without a path.
Important Certain agent releases may come with special instructions that supersede or
supplement the standard installation instructions. If in doubt about how to install an upgrade,
consult the User Exchange or contact VMware Carbon Black Technical Support.
Procedure
2 Go to the Assets > Computers page, and in the row for the endpoint you intend to manually
upgrade, click the computer name or click the View Details link.
3 On the Computer Details page, click Disable Tamper Protection, located on the far right
under the Advanced section. It can take a few minutes before Tamper Protection is disabled
on the agent.
4 Download the upgrade installer for your Linux version to the endpoint on which you plan to
upgrade the agent (or a point from which you can copy it):
You can use a URL, UNC path, or any other standard means of downloading the file. Note that
this installer is not listed on the Agent Downloads page in the console.
To use a URL, click Rules > Policies in the console, click the Download link at the top of the
page, and edit the URL for the download page as follows:
https://<serveraddress>/hostpkg/pkg.php?pkg=Bit9Redhat{6,7 or
8}Install.bsx
5 If necessary, copy the downloaded BSX file to the endpoint where you are upgrading the
agent.
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6 Open a Terminal window and change directory to the location where the installer was
downloaded or copied. For example: cd ~/Downloads
7 Execute the following command with the appropriate version of the BSX file:
Procedure
2 Go to the Assets > Computers page, and click on the computer name or View Details link for
the computer you intend to manually upgrade.
Disable tamper protection by clicking Disable Tamper Protection, located on the far right
under the Advanced section. It can take a few minutes before Tamper Protection is disabled
on the agent.
-or-
4 Download the upgrade installer for macOS agents, which is Bit9MacInstall.bsx. You can
do this by using a URL, UNC path, or any other standard means of getting to the file. Note that
this installer is not listed on the Downloads page in the console.
To use a URL, you can click Rules > Policies in the console, click the Download link at the top
of the page, and edit the URL for the download page as follows:
https://<serveraddress>/hostpkg/pkg.php?pkg=Bit9MacInstall.bsx
5 Open a Terminal window and change directory to the location where the installer was
downloaded (by default, the user-specific Download directory). For example: cd ~/Downloads
7 f you are not using MDM and are currently on any version of Mojave or later operating system,
see Allowing the Agent Kernel Extension (Mojave or Later) for additional, mandatory steps to
allow the Carbon Black, Inc. kernel extension.
8 If you have not already done so, enable the macOS System Updates updater, which allows
minor updates to the OS to be approved for installation. Be sure you are running at least
version 9 or later of this updater. You can enable updaters on the Software Rules > Updaters
page.
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Also on this page, the Connected column uses different color dots to indicate different agent
conditions. Hovering the mouse over the dot provides a text description of the condition. See
"Computer Details" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide for more information
about these indicators.
In addition, the Upgrade Status column in the Computers table shows a more detailed description
of agent status as each agent goes through the upgrade process. Endpoints transition to an
Upgrade Status and Policy Status of Up to date when all their upgrade processing has been
completed.
An upgraded agent begins running immediately. You usually do not need to reboot the agent
computer, but there are cases in which you may see an Upgrade Status is Reboot required:
n Some Windows XP/2003 systems must be rebooted after upgrade to assure proper ordering
of processes and enforcement of rules on systems using DFS.
n On any Windows version, if a file is in use by another process when the agent installer
attempts to write that file, you must reboot the endpoint to allow the system to replace the
old file with the current version.
Not Requested Agent can be upgraded but upgrades are not enabled for
the policy, or they are turned off globally.
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Upgrade scheduled Agent has been scheduled for upgrade, or computer has
downloaded the upgrade package and not run it yet. Note
that the server does not track when the agent upgrade
package is downloaded and run.
Upgrade requested An agent upgrade for this computer was requested from
the console.
Agent uninstalled Agent was on this endpoint but has been uninstalled.
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Uninstalling Agents on Endpoints
9
Standard un-installation procedures delete all Carbon Black App Control files, including the
notifier program and drivers. Users are not permitted to uninstall an enabled agent unless
they have special agent administrative access as described in "Configuring Agent Management
Privileges" in the VMware Carbon Black App Control User Guide.
To uninstall, you must disable the agent by placing the endpoint in a policy that is in Disabled
mode, which can be done on the Computers page. If you have not already done so, log in to
the Carbon Black App Control console and create a policy with its Mode set to Disabled before
attempting to uninstall any agents. You might name this “Agent Disabled” or “Ready to Uninstall”.
When you create the policy, the server automatically creates an agent installer for it and adds the
installer to the Download Install Packages page.
Procedure
1 In the Carbon Black App Control console, find the endpoint on the Computers page and move
it into the agent disabled policy.
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3 On the client computer, run the standard program removal procedure from the Windows
Control Panel:
a On the Windows Control Panel, select Add or Remove Programs, or for Vista or Windows
7 systems, select Programs and Features.
c Click the Remove button or Uninstall button (depending upon your operating system) and
wait for the uninstall to complete.
4 In the Carbon Black App Control console, delete the endpoint from the Computers page.
This step tells the Carbon Black App Control server that the endpoint is no longer in service
(rather than temporarily disconnected from the network), and removes its name from the table
of active computers (endpoints).
Procedure
1 In the Carbon Black App Control console, find the endpoint on the Computers page and move
it into the agent disabled policy.
2 On the endpoint, login with administrator privileges or an account that can run sudo.
cd /opt/bit9/bin
n To remove the agent and all of its data, run the following command:
sudo sh ./b9uninstall.sh
n To remove the agent but preserve agent data in /srv/bit9, run the following command:
sudo sh ./b9uninstall.sh -d
5 In the Carbon Black App Control console, delete the endpoint from the Computers page.
This step tells the Carbon Black App Control server that the endpoint is no longer in service
(rather than temporarily disconnected from the network), and removes its name from the table
of active computers (endpoints).
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Procedure
1 In the Carbon Black App Control console, find the endpoint on the Computers page and move
it into the agent disabled policy.
sudo /Applications/Bit9/uninstall.sh
3 In the Carbon Black App Control console, delete the endpoint from the Computers page.
This step tells the Carbon Black App Control server that the endpoint is no longer in service
(rather than temporarily disconnected from the network), and removes its name from the table
of active computers (endpoints).
What to do next
After uninstalling a macOS agent, VMware Carbon Black recommends rebooting the endpoint.
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Document History
10
The following changes were made to this document:
Associated Software
Date Version Topic Change Description
29 June 2022 N/A Create and Assign Smart Added new Jamf topic
Computer Groups
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