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Guardz Device Agent Installation Instructions
Guardz Device Agent Installation Instructions
Updated this week

1. Prerequisites

  • Access to the Guardz platform

  • Administrator rights on the target system (macOS/Windows/Widows Server)

The supported versions of Windows Server: 2016, 2019, and 2022

2. Important Notes

  • For Version 0.0.38 (April 2023) and Prior Users: If you have a version before 0.0.38, you must manually uninstall it before installing the new one. Please do so to avoid incompatible software running on your device. You may contact our support team for assistance.

  • For the Windows Server agent:

    • Device Posture antivirus status: The system will detect the status of Defender and, if active, the policy settings will be applied from Guardz. If a different antivirus is active, putting Defender in "passive mode," the system will not be able to identify its name and it will be listed as "Unknown".

    • Device Posture firewall status: The system will detect the status of the Defender firewall and, if inactive, even if there is a third-party firewall installed and running, the system will not detect a firewall and an issue will be triggered.

  • Please always ensure you use the most up-to-date script available on the Guardz platform, and always insert your actual Organization Key when running the script.

  • While downloading the script, a region parameter (e.g., US, EU) is injected; therefore, if you change the region, you must re-download the script.

3. Initial Steps

  1. Log into the Guardz platform, navigate to the Security Controls page, open the Endpoint Security control, and click Deploy.

  2. Download the installation script for the relevant platform, and note down your Organization Key.

4. Installation

Option 1: Script (RMM) Installation

Start by downloading the script for the device: for macOS, Windows, or Windows Server.

Follow your RMM's documentation for running scripts on client machines. Pass the Organization Key as the first argument to the script.

Use the below Local script installation if you choose to run the script on the device:

You may need to set the execution policy on your device to allow for scripts to be run. Please look at the Troubleshooting section below for instructions, if necessary.

macOS

(Replace the <value> with the actual values)

  1. Open Terminal.

  2. Navigate to the directory where you downloaded the script using the cd command.

  3. Give the script execute permissions:
    chmod +x <script-name>

  4. Run the script with your Organization Key as the first argument:
    sudo ./<script-name> <Organization_Key>

  5. Check if the Guardz Agent is running:
    sudo launchctl list | grep guardz

Windows

  1. Open PowerShell with Administrator rights.

  2. Navigate to the directory where you downloaded the script using the `cd` command.
    Run the script with your Organization Key as the first argument:
    .\<script-name> <Organization_Key>

  3. Check if the Guardz Agent is running:
    Get-Service "Guardz Agent"

To deploy the agent via Intune, please follow the instructions in the guide:

To deploy the agent via a Group Policy, please follow the instructions in the guide:

Option 2: Installer (MSI/PKG)

If you wish to install the device agent manually per device, you can use the dedicated installer.

macOS

  1. The installer for mac devices holds the Organization Key in it - make sure you download the installer from the desired tenant.

  2. Navigate to the 'single customer' you wish to install the agent for.
    Open the Security Controls > Deploy > Download Installer, and choose macOS.

  3. Note! This is a sensitive file that contains the Organization Key, so be mindful of who you share it with.

  4. Open the installer and progress with the installation instructions until completed.

  5. To validate if the agent has been installed on the device, run this line in the device terminal- sudo launchctl list | grep guardz, and if the installation is completed successfully, you should see one line that includes com.guardz.daemon

Windows and Windows Server

  1. The installers for Windows and Windows Server are generic and require adding the unique Organization Key during the installation process (per tenant).

  2. Navigate to the 'single customer' you wish to install the agent for.
    Open the Security Controls > Deploy > Download Installer, and choose Windows or Windows Server.

  3. Open the installer and progress with the installation instructions. Add the Organization Key from the required tenant

  4. Follow the next steps until the installation is completed.

  5. To validate the installation has been completed successfully on the device, open PowerShell and run the command Get-Service "Guardz Agent"

    If the installation is completed, you should see the status 'Running' for the Guardz Agent.

5. Validation in Guardz

In the Guardz platform, navigate to the Devices page and ensure the newly deployed devices appear in the table. If everything works properly, it should take 1-2 minutes.


Troubleshooting

Windows Execution Policy (Manual Installation Only)

If running scripts is disabled on your system due to your Execution Policy, you'll need to bypass this policy temporarily.

  1. Open PowerShell with Administrator rights.

  2. Check and save your current Execution Policy:
    $CurrentPolicy = Get-ExecutionPolicy

  3. Set the Execution Policy to Bypass:
    Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Force

  4. You can now run your script. Remember to restore your original Execution Policy afterward:
    Set-ExecutionPolicy $CurrentPolicy -Force


FAQs

Question: How can I move a device from one organization to another?

Answer: There’s no need to uninstall the Guardz Agent when moving a device to another organization. However you will need to re-install the agent using the new organization’s key.

Question: Now that I’ve installed the agent, how do I get back to the login page?

Answer: We recommend bookmarking the MSP Guardz homepage so you can easily navigate back to it. Based on where your data is hosted, the Guardz homepage can be found at one of the following locations:

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