Security Compliance

Can I install an antivirus software on SEM

This article discusses restrictions on installing antivirus software or third party applications on SEM Appliance

First published date

10/29/2018 8:09 PM

Last published date

10/29/2018 8:09 PM

Overview

This article discusses reasons why installing third party antivirus software agent on SEM is not recommended.

Product section

Security Event Manager

Resolution

SolarWinds does not allow an antivirus to be installed on SEM. Similar to a firewall, switch or router, SEM is an appliance which does not allow such software to be installed. Reasons for this include the following:

The Debian kernel is already a stripped-down version of Linux, and is very secure.
Because SEM is an appliance, access is already limited to select ports and protocols.
An antivirus software impacts the performance of any device and is often incompatible with some software applications.
SolarWinds does not provide a root access to let you install an antivirus. Providing a root access would result to failure to meet auditing requirements and changes to the operating system or application. This could lead SEM to be out of scope from SolarWinds support.

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