Deploying on Windows Using Group Policy Object

 

Avast Business products can be remotely deployed to all Windows machines on your network using Group Policy Object (GPO) and the .msi installer file from your Business Hub. You can choose the settings and policy you would like your devices to use, but you must ensure you choose the .msi installer file, rather than the .exe. For more information, see Adding Devices to Business Hub.

The following steps use the "Assign Software" method, as the program is always installed for all users.

Creating a Distribution Point

The first step in deploying a .msi I through GPO is to create a distribution point on the publishing server. This can be done by following these steps:

1. Log on to the server as an Administrator user
2. Create a shared network folder (this folder will contain the .msi package)
3. Set permissions on this folder in order to allow access to the distribution package
4. Copy the .msi in the shared folder

Creating an Object for Your Package

A .msi package is deployed (distributed) as a Group Policy Object. In order to create an object for your package, you can follow these steps:

1. Click on the Start button > Programs > Administrative Tools > Active Directory Users and Computers
2. Right-click your domain name in the console tree and select the Properties context menu
3. Select the Group Policy tab and click New
4. Set the name of the policy (for example MyApplication)
5. Click Properties and select the Security tab
6. Check the Apply Group Policy checkbox only for the groups to which the policy will be applied
7. Click Ok

Creating a Software Installation Package

1. Click on the Start button > Programs > Administrative Tools > Active Directory Users and Computers
2. Right-click your domain name in the console tree and select the Properties context menu
3. Go to the Group Policy tab, select the object you want and click Edit
4. Expand Software Settings under Computer Configuration
5. Right-click Software Installation, select the New context menu and then click on Package
6. In the Open dialog type the full UNC path of the shared package you want to assign
7. Click Open
8. Click on Assigned and then click Ok (the package will be added to the right pane of the "Group Policy" window)
9. Close the Group Policy snap-in, click Ok and exit the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in

When the client computers start, the assigned package will be installed automatically. When updating via .msi, just delete the old Software Installation package and create a new one with the new .msi downloaded from the console.

Removing the Software Installation package from Group policy will not uninstall the Avast client. The uninstallation should be performed from the Console by deleting the device, or from add or remove programs on the client machine.