Quick Start: Avast Business Hub

 

Avast Business offers two different management consoles: Business Hub (recommended) and On-Premise Console. The Hub is hosted and maintained by Avast and can be accessed from anywhere, whereas the On-Premise Console is installed and maintained by the administrator.

To learn more about Avast Business Management Consoles and differences between them, see Hub vs. On-Premise Console.

 

The Business Hub allows you to manage multiple sites or customers from a single console. This cloud-based platform helps reduce the burdens of maintaining, configuring, and optimizing endpoint security. The Hub is ideal for:

• Medium- to large-sized companies with multiple office locations or sites
• IT Service Providers managing multiple customers
• Existing users of the Avast Business Cloud Console using the account switching functionality (for more information, see Managing Companies)

Avast Business Hub integrates seamlessly with Antivirus to:

• Leverage virtualization to protect confidential information
• Protect multiple platforms - PCs, Macs, and servers
• Update to the latest version automatically or manually
• Add extra firewall protection for remote endpoints
• Provide complete server protection
• Secure your e-mail client

When you install Avast Business products on devices through the Hub, you can control those products remotely. This means you can change and apply settings to each device individually, without having to visit each device or recall them from the field.

Verifying System Requirements

Before setting up your console or installing Essential/Premium/Ultimate Business Security on end devices, make sure all System Requirements are met.

Verifying Firewall Requirements

For overall functionality, and to enable the Antivirus clients and/or the Management Console to authenticate/update, you must allow certain ports and URL addresses through your Firewall or Proxy Server. For more detail, refer to the Firewall Requirements article.

Setting Up Your Console

Even if you are a current customer, you will need to create a new account for the Hub using a unique email address.

Activating and Managing Subscriptions

Activating Subscriptions

The first time you access your Business Hub, you will need to enter your activation code when prompted so that the subscription you purchased can be activated. For more information on how to perform subscription activation, see Activating and Upgrading Subscriptions.

Viewing and Altering Subscriptions

In your Business Hub, you can easily check information such as which subscriptions are active, when they expire, or how many devices they are assigned to. You can also see how many seats are available (unassigned) so you can buy additional ones in time or free up some of the used ones. Read the Viewing and Altering Subscriptions article for a more detailed overview.

Assigning Subscriptions to Devices

To assign activated subscriptions to endpoint devices, follow the steps described in Managing Services. Note that you can only perform this action after you have added at least one device to your network (see the Adding Devices section for more information).

Adding Companies

The first time you register for your Avast account in your console, you will need to create a new company profile. To check out all information you will need to provide as well as the steps for editing a company profile if needed, refer to the Adding Companies article.

Adding Devices

After setting up your Avast account and creating your company profile, you need to add your devices to your network in order to keep them protected from threats and manage their security straight from your Avast Business Management Console. For instructions on how to bring desired devices into your network (including the steps to share the installer download link or deploy the installer remotely), see Adding Devices to Your Network.

Installing Antivirus on End Devices

Once you have sent the installer file or download link from the Hub to desired end devices, you will need to install Essential/Premium/Ultimate Business Security on those devices. The quick and simple installation process is described in Installing Local Clients on End Devices.

Setting Up Update/Master Agents

You can set up devices to act as Update/Master Agents for other devices. These Agents store identical copies of update files that reside on Avast's update servers, which means that other devices managed via the console can download update files from the Agents instead of contacting the Avast Update Servers. They can also act as Local Update Servers for Program and Virus Definition updates.

To find out how to set up devices as Update Agents or Local Update Servers, refer to the Setting Up Update Agents and Local Update Servers article.

Adding Users

You can invite desired users to join your Avast Business Management Console as administrators or viewers. For more details on how to invite and manage console users, see Adding and Editing Users.

Configuring Settings and Policies

The main way you manage your devices is through policies, which are groups of security rules that determine how Avast Business products work on the endpoints. Any changes to a policy are applied to the devices and groups the policy is assigned to. For more information, see How Configuration Works.

You could also benefit from creating Global Policies in Business Hub.

Configuring Components

Via the policies, you will be able to enable/disable various Antivirus components and customize their settings straight from your console. To see which components are included in each subscription type and how to configure and manage them, refer to the Component Overview article.

Note that a business environment's needs differ from those of consumers. Therefore, certain components are not recommended for use in such a network even though they are available. To see which components you should avoid, go to Recommended Components for Servers and Workstations.

Configuring Exclusions

The policies also offer the option of excluding specified files, folders, or websites from being scanned by Antivirus (usually done to speed up scans and prevent false-positive detections). To add and configure standard and component-specific antivirus exclusions, see Configuring Antivirus Exclusions.

Configuring Updates

In your policy settings, you can set your devices to manually or automatically update the Antivirus program and virus definitions. For more information, go to Updating Devices in Your Network.

Configuring Restarts

From your policies in the Hub, you can control when your endpoint devices automatically restart to apply updates and patches. To view and manage your restart options in the console, follow the Configuring Restarts guidelines.

Assigning Policies to Devices

You can assign a policy to an individual device or a group of devices. For detailed instructions, see Assigning Policies.

To create a device group first if needed, refer to Managing Groups.

Performing Tasks

Avast Business Hub offers the possibility of creating several types of tasks that can be propagated across your network or applied to specific devices only. Via these tasks, you can:

• Scan devices (see Device Scanning Tasks)
• Update devices (see Antivirus Update Tasks for Devices)
• Shutdown/restart devices (see Shutting Down and Restarting Devices)

To learn how to manage tasks in the console, see Managing Tasks.

Setting Up Antivirus Scans

The above mentioned device scans are a key component to the protection of your devices. The more often you perform scans, the more likely you will catch malicious threats before they do damage to your devices and networks. To see which scan types are available in the Hub and how to set them up, go to Configuring Files and Programs Scanned by Antivirus.

 

 

There are many more features and options available in Avast Business Hub. For more information, please see the rest of our Knowledge Base.