Pre-Deployment Requirements for Next Generation Antivirus & Ransomware Prevention

To ensure a successful deployment, review the checklist below. If you answer Yes to any item, review the corresponding section for guidance.

All customers should review Essential Guidelines for a Successful Deployment, as these apply to all environments.

Essential guidelines for a successful deployment

This section applies to all customers.

Change control requirements

Many organizations use a change control process for their IT environments. Ensure all change controls are approved before deployment to support proper implementation and testing of product functionality.

If a change request is pending or an emergency change is needed, determine what actions can be taken to maintain the momentum of the deployment.

Command Platform access

Ensure you have access to the Command Platform (insight.rapid7.com) as a Platform Administrator, or that somebody with this level of access is available during the engagement.

**If your organization does not have this access, notify your Customer Success Manager (CSM).

Configure activation modes

During deployment, configure Next-Generation Antivirus (NGAV) in Monitor Only mode. This allows the system to detect potential threats without taking action, helping you identify false positives and define exclusions.

Before enabling active prevention, allow each asset to complete a typical operational cycle. For example, if an asset supports payroll processing, allow at least one full pay period to capture normal activity. This reduces the risk of disrupting business operations when enforcement is enabled. For optimal results, we recommend rolling this out after the initial deployment to cover the various types of roles at your organization.

Additional Reading: Activation Modes 

Attend an implementation engagement session

To maximize the value of Next-Generation Antivirus and Ransomware Prevention, Rapid7 strongly recommends meeting with our deployment consultants before initiating any bulk or mass-scale installations. This implementation engagement session helps ensure your environment is prepared to scale.

During this engagement, you will:

• Review product components and agent installation
• Define global settings and create an initial policy
  • Includes discussing critical exclusions and allow-listing to promote system interoperability
• Discuss rollout strategy
  • We provide recommendations on the best approach for transitioning your deployment from test to production, as well as advising when to transition from non-blocking to blocking mode

Section 1: System Requirements

Ensure the assets designated for deployment meet or exceed the System and Network Requirements .

Section 2: Pre-existing Antivirus

Note: If you are using Ransomware Prevention only, you can skip this section.

Some antivirus products may detect another product’s signature database as malicious or interfere with system registration and scanning. For that reason, any systems that you target for the rollout must have existing antivirus software fully removed before the engagement.

Section 3: Targeted Machines

During the deployment, your consultant will work with you to deploy NGAV on up to three (3) machines. Ensure the machines are available for the duration of the deployment engagement.