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University Systems

Microsoft Defender

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is Microsoft's endpoint protection software. It provides protection from viruses, network intrusion and other cyber threats. It's mandatory on all UVic-owned computers. It's free for UVic computers other than servers.

Details

Type
Microsoft 365 app
For
UVic-owned devices
Cost
Free
Platform
Windows, Mac, Linux

Manual installation

Computers that University Systems manages will have Defender installed and updated automatically. If you manage your own UVic-owned computer, you'll need to install it yourself or contact IT support for help. Admin or root access is required.

  1. Download the Windows onboarding package (8 KB zip file).
  2. Make sure your device meets the requirements for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for Windows.
  3. Follow the instructions to onboard your Windows device using a local script. Skip step 1; you've already downloaded the onboarding package.

  1. Download the installer package for macOS (403 MB pkg file).
  2. Make sure your device meets the system requirements for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for Mac.
  3. Follow the instructions to manually install the application on macOS. In step 1, you'll need to open the package you downloaded (Install MSDE.pkg) rather than wdav.pkg.
  4. Continue following the instructions to allow Full Disk Access and Background Execution.

  1. Download the Linux onboarding package (8 KB zip file).
  2. Make sure your device meets the requirements for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Linux.
  3. Follow the instructions to deploy Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Linux manually.

Be sure to use the recommended settings, the defaults settings are not sufficient. If you upgrade your Linux distribution to a new major version, MDE will need to be reinstalled.

Configuration settings

UVic deploys setting configuration for devices where possible to ensure real-time scanning, cloud delivered protection, network protection, automatic updates, and blocking of potentially unwanted applications.

For Linux devices, check and set the configuration manually and ensure that:

  • Enforcement level is real-time.
  • Cloudservice is enabled.
  • Cloudblocklevel is normal.
  • Network protection is enabled.
  • Behavior monitoring is enabled.
  • Potentially unwanted applications are blocked.
  • Automatic updates are enabled.
  • Weekly antivirus scans are scheduled (we suggest Sunday mornings). 

The default settings are recommended. Real-time scanning, cloud-delivered protection and automatic updates should all be enabled. Potentially unwanted applications should be blocked.

Restrictions & limitations

  • Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is only licensed for use on endpoints. Any device that people use to connect to the Internet can be an endpoint, but servers aren't. We can purchase licenses for security software for servers separately.
  • We don't currently support Defender for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

Personal computers

We do not recommend installing Defender for Endpoint on computers not owned by UVic. We do encourage using security software on personal computers however. There are many free and affordable options. Wikipedia has a thorough comparison of antivirus products. Here are some personal recommendations from University Systems staff: 

Windows

Mac

Linux

Get help now

Contact IT support to:

  • get help installing Defender for Endpoint on a self-managed UVic computer
  • troubleshoot problems with Defender
  • report a security problem that Defender has warned you of
  • report a file that you believe is being falsely reported as malicious
  • get advice if your UVic device doesn't meet the system requirements
Get help