Enable users to temporarily disable Antivirus or Firewall

Products

• Symantec Products

Issue/Introduction

You need to allow endpoint computer users to temporarily disable the Antivirus or Firewall components in Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition (SEP SBE) Cloud.

WARNING: Antivirus must be enabled to activate Antispyware, SONAR, and Download Intelligence. Firewall detects and blocks online threats, and prevents attacks from existing threats if the computer was previously infected.

Environment

The ability to temporarily disable components applies only to desktop and laptop installations on the following operating systems:

• Windows XP SP3+ (32-bit editions)
• Windows Vista
• Windows 7
• Windows 8
• Windows 10

Notes:

• Windows XP SP3+ 64-bit editions run the server version of the client, and are unable to apply the options described in this article.
• Server OS installations have the Firewall component disabled and will not block communications.

Resolution

Enable users to disable the Antivirus and Firewall components

1. In the SEP SBE Cloud console, navigate to the Policies tab.
2. In the left menu, under Services, click Endpoint Protection.
3. Open an existing custom Endpoint Protection policy, or create a new custom policy.
   Note: You can edit custom policies, whereas default policies cannot be modified.
4. Under Computer Protection, enable User can disable Antivirus.
5. Under Network Protection, enable User can disable Firewall.
6. Under Groups, check the appropriate group to assign the policy to that group.
   WARNING: Groups assigned to this policy may not be fully protected.
7. Click Save & Apply.

Disable Antivirus and Firewall components in the client

After editing a policy as described earlier in this article, endpoint computer users have the option to disable the Antivirus and Firewall components within the SEP SBE client.

Note: The SEP SBE client will automatically re-enable these components either after the selected time period, or when the computer restarts, whichever comes first.

To disable Antivirus or Firewall components in the client

1. In the SEP SBE client, in the right sidebar, expand either [+] Disable Antivirus or [+] Disable Firewall.
2. Choose a time period:
   • 15 minutes
   • 1 hour
   • 5 hours
   • Until system restart

To enable Antivirus or Firewall components in the client (when disabled)

• Antivirus: In the SEP SBE client, in the right sidebar, click Enable Antivirus.
• Firewall: In the SEP SBE client, in the right sidebar, click either Enable Firewall.