This article refers to Barracuda Email Security Gateway firmware 6.1.x through 7.0.x. Before installing the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent, it is recommended that you review all settings and options as shown below in Exchange Antivirus Settings. The Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent 6.0.x supports Microsoft Exchange Server versions 2007 and 2010. Note that the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent no longer supports Microsoft Exchange Server version 2003.
What is the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent?
The Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent is an add-in that you can download from your Barracuda Email Security Gateway and install on your Microsoft Exchange mailbox server(s). The add-in works together with Microsoft Exchange Server to scan messages for viruses and only provides data about infected messages that is made available by the Exchange Server. The Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent provides constantly updated virus signatures and does the scanning. Exchange does not provide a quarantine tool for viewing infected messages, information on false positives or other infected message details. All threat statistics provided to the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent by Exchange are listed in the Exchange Antivirus Add-in Statistics section on the ADVANCED > Exchange Antivirus page of the Barracuda Email Security Gateway web interface. For infected file name information, see the MS Windows Event Log. To view performance of virus scanning on your Exchange server, use the MS Windows Performance Monitor.
Download and Install the Agent
You must be a member of an Exchange Server Organization Management security group in order to install the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent on Exchange Server 2010. To install the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent on Exchange Server 2007, you must be a member of an Exchange Organization Administrator security group. Before installing the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent on Exchange Server 2007 or 2010:
- Barracuda Networks recommends that you review all settings and options as shown below in the Exchange Antivirus Settings section.
- Set the Automatic Update option to On for Virus Definitions on the ADVANCED > Energize Updates page on the Barracuda Email Security Gateway.
To install the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent on Exchange Server 2007 or 2010:
- Log into Exchange Server as an administrator.
- Use the browser on your Exchange Server to connect to the Barracuda Email Security Gateway web interface.
- Log into Barracuda Email Security Gateway and navigate to the ADVANCED > Exchange Antivirus page.
In the Exchange Antivirus Agent section, click Download for the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent that works with your version of Exchange Server.
- Run the Windows Installer and follow the setup wizard instructions.
- Click Finish when the wizard completes installing the agent. After it is installed, the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent is active and begins providing virus protection.
- Click Next. The Virus Definitions will now be installed on your Exchange Server by the Barracuda Email Security Gateway.
- When the progress bar shows complete, click Next The Barracuda Email Security Gateway installs the configuration on your Exchange Server.
- Click Finish when the progress bar shows complete. The agent is now configured. At this point, the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent has been loaded by the Exchange Server and scanning has begun according to the configured settings.
Configure the Agent on Microsoft Exchange
Note that if the configuration process is interrupted and does not complete, it can be rerun from the Start Menu, or it will reopen each time Windows is restarted until configuration is completed (or the product is uninstalled).
- When prompted on Exchange Server, enter the URI (must be https) of your Barracuda Email Security Gateway, along with the Passtoken shown on the ADVANCED > Exchange Antivirus page in the Exchange Antivirus Agent section.
- Click Next. The Virus Definitions will now be installed on your Exchange Server by the Barracuda Email Security Gateway.
- Click Next when the progress bar shows complete. The Barracuda Email Security Gateway will install the configuration on your Exchange Server.
- Click Finish when the progress bar shows complete. The Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent is now configured. At this point, the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent has been loaded by the Exchange Server and scanning has begun according to the configured settings.
Exchange Antivirus Settings
After you have installed and configured the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent per the above steps, you'll see your Exchange Server listed in the table in the Exchange Antivirus Settings section of the ADVANCED > Exchange Antivirus page on the Barracuda Email Security Gateway listing the following:
- Hostname - The hostname of your Exchange Server.
- Version - The version of the installed Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent.
- Updated - A value of Yes indicates that the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent is communicating with the Barracuda Email Security Gateway. If this field shows No, it might indicate a brief period of non-communication. Typically the field will refresh to Yes as the Barracuda Email Security Gateway sends the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent an update. If the value remains No, check network connectivity between your Exchange Server and the Barracuda Email Security Gateway.
Configuring Exchange Antivirus Settings for Exchange Server 2007/2010
Barracuda Networks considers that the default configuration settings, managed from the ADVANCED > Exchange Antivirus page of the Barracuda Email Security Gateway, are acceptable for most environments and recommends that they only be changed with caution.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Enabled | Yes enables the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent to scan mail on the Exchange Server after the agent has been successfully installed. Disabling the scanner (setting Enabled to No) does not disable all related Windows services. To permanently remove the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent, you must uninstall it on Exchange Server. |
| Scan RTF Message Bodies | Rich Text Format (RTF) is used primarily by Microsoft Outlook for internal messages. Set to Yes to scan these types of messages. If you select No, only HTML and plain text message bodies will be scanned, while RTF messages will not. |
| On-Access Scanning | This type of scan occurs when a client requests data that has not yet been scanned (i.e. on-demand). Select Yes to enable. |
| Scan Outbound Messages | If your outbound message traffic is scanned by another service (e.g. the Barracuda Email Security Gateway), then this feature can be disabled to reduce load on your Exchange Server. |
| Timeout | Number of seconds to wait for a scan before Exchange Server times out and returns an error to the mail client. |
| Proactive Scanning | This type of scan occurs in the background and applies to new messages that have arrived in the message queue but have not yet been read. |
| Background Scanning | Background scanning occurs on a low-priority basis and applies to older data that has not yet been scanned using the newest virus definitions. Set to No to reduce load on your Exchange Server, but infected messages that are delivered before the newer virus definitions are able to detect them won't be later rescanned and quarantined. |
| Scanning Cutoff | Maximum age of message, in hours, to re-scan messages when virus definitions are updated. Lowering this value can reduce the load on your Exchange Server, but it can also increase the risk of failing to quarantine late-breaking infections. |
| Infected Messages Retention | Time period, in hours, that the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent waits after an infected message is quarantined before deleting it. Consider the longest time period that users would not check their email, but also consider that a higher value could impact performance on the Exchange Server. If the value is too low (shorter time), the system may not deliver false positives (i.e., 'good' mail) that the user might want to receive. |
| Only Scan Attachments | This setting applies to background scanning of messages. Setting to Yes indicates to scan only attachments, not message bodies. |
| Only Scan Unscanned Messages | When set to Yes, Exchange Server scans messages in the background that have never been scanned before rather than rescanning messages when virus definitions are updated. |
Removing the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent
To remove the Barracuda Exchange Antivirus Agent for a particular Exchange server, you must first uninstall the add-in from that Exchange Server. Next, log into the Barracuda Email Security Gateway web interface as admin. From the ADVANCED > Exchange Antivirus page, click the trash can icon for the Exchange Server hostname in the table in the Exchange Antivirus Agent Settings section. This will remove the Exchange Server from the statistics and threats reports on the page.