[KB8177] Manage older unsupported Windows operating systems using ESET PROTECT (8.x – 10.x)

Issue

  • Manage computers with earlier unsupported operating systems (for example, Windows Vista or Windows XP) in ESET PROTECT
Use the latest versions of supported operating systems

We strongly recommend that you run the latest versions of supported operating systems on computers in your network.

The management of computers running earlier operating systems using ESET PROTECT is only possible with ESET products in Limited Support (for example, ESET Management Agent 8.0 and ESET Endpoint Antivirus/Security 6.5), which may cause some remote management limitations.

We do not guarantee the functionality of earlier ESET products after they reach their End of Life.

This article applies to ESET PROTECT on-premises

You cannot manage unsupported operating systems with ESET PROTECT Cloud.

Solution

Operating systems you can manage in ESET PROTECT

You can manage the following operating systems in ESET PROTECT using this guide:

  • Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) without the updates required to run the latest version of ESET products
  • Windows 7 without Service Pack (SP0) - follow these steps to filter this version using a dynamic group template
  • Windows Vista
  • Windows XP
  • Windows Server 2008 SP2
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 without the updates required to run the latest version of ESET products
  • Windows Server 2003

For all these systems, use the combination of the latest version of ESET PROTECT with ESET Management Agent version 8.0 and ESET endpoint product version 6.5.

If you use ESET PROTECT and want to manage computers running unsupported operating systems, follow the instructions below:

  1. Create a dynamic group template for computers running ESET Management Agent 8.0
  2. Assign computers running ESET Management Agent 8.0 to a dynamic group
  3. Download and install ESET Management Agent on your computers
  4. Install security products via a software install task

I. Create a dynamic group template for computers running ESET Management Agent 8.0

  1. Open the ESET PROTECT Web Console in your web browser and log in.

  2. Click MoreDynamic Group TemplatesNew Template.

    Figure 1-1
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  3. Type a Name for your Dynamic Group Template and click Continue.

    Figure 1-2
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  4. Click Add Rule.

    Figure 1-3
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  5. Expand Installed software, select Application name and click OK.

    Figure 1-4
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  6. Click Add Rule, expand Installed software, select Application version and click OK.

  7. Click the empty field next to Application name and select ESET Management Agent.

    Figure 1-5
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  8. Click the empty field next to Application version, type 8.0 and then click Finish.

    Figure 1-6
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Assign computers running ESET Management Agent 8.0 to a dynamic group

Create a new Dynamic Group under the All Static Group and assign to it the Dynamic Group Template created in the previous section.

  1. Click Computers, click the gear icon and click New Dynamic Group.

    Figure 2-1
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  2. Type a Name for your Dynamic Group and click Continue.

    Figure 2-2
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  3. Click Choose Existing.

    Figure 2-3
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  4. Select the check box next to the Dynamic Group you created and click OK.

    Figure 2-4
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  5. Click Finish.

    Figure 2-5
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  6. To view the list of computers in this Dynamic Group, click Computers and click the Dynamic Group. If the group includes computers running supported operating systems, manually upgrade them to the latest version of ESET Management Agent.

  7. If some of your computers do not show in ESET PROTECT, download and install ESET Management Agent version 8.0 on those computers to add them to the dynamic group in ESET PROTECT.


III. Download and install ESET Management Agent on your computers

  1. Download ESET Management Agent 8.0 for Windows:

Select the correct Agent version (32-bit or 64-bit)

Use the Agent with the same bitness as your operating system (32-bit or 64-bit).

  1. Install the Agent locally on the computers you want to manage. The computers will show in ESET PROTECT Web Console the next time you log in.

    Alternatively, if you need to install the Agent on several computers, you can generate a configuration script and deploy the Agent locally with the script in the same folder.


IV. Install security products via a software install task

  1. Open the ESET PROTECT Web Console in your web browser and log in.

  2. Click TasksNewClient Task.

    Figure 3-1
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  3. Type a Name for your task. In the Task drop-down menu select Software Install and click Continue.

    Figure 3-2
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  4. Select Install by direct package URL and get the path to the installer package:

From the respective drop-down menus, select the ESET endpoint product, select the bit version and select the language of the software you want to install. Click Copy Link. Optionally, click Download and provide the local file path to the installer.

Create a task for each bitness

If you have computers running both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems, create two separate Software Install tasks for each bitness with respective target groups.

  1. Copy the link you have copied in step 4 of this section to the field next to Install by direct package URL. Select the check box next to I accept the End User License Agreement and click Finish.

    Figure 3-3
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  2. Click Create Trigger.

    Figure 3-4
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  3. Type a Trigger Description and click Target.

    Figure 3-5
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  4. Click Add Targets.

    Figure 3-6
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  5. Select the Dynamic Group with computers running unsupported OS.

    Figure 3-7
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  6. Click Finish. Optionally, click Trigger and adjust the trigger type. When the Software Install task finishes, computers running Windows XP/Vista are protected by the ESET security product.

    Figure 3-8
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