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Configure Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Linux for static proxy discovery

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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can discover a proxy server using the HTTPS_PROXY environment variable. This setting must be configured both at installation time and after the product has been installed.

Installation time configuration

During installation, the HTTPS_PROXY environment variable must be passed to the package manager. The package manager can read this variable in any of the following ways:

  • The HTTPS_PROXY variable is defined in /etc/environment with the following line:

    HTTPS_PROXY="http://proxy.server:port/"

  • The HTTPS_PROXY variable is defined in the package manager global configuration. For example, in Ubuntu 18.04, you can add the following line to /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/proxy.conf:

    Acquire::https::Proxy "http://proxy.server:port/";

    Caution

    Note that above two methods could define the proxy to use for other applications on your system. Use this method with caution, or only if this is meant to be a generally global configuration.

  • The HTTPS_PROXY variable is prepended to the installation or uninstallation commands. For example, with the APT package manager, prepend the variable as follows when installing Microsoft Defender for Endpoint:

    HTTPS_PROXY="http://proxy.server:port/" apt install mdatp

    Note

    Do not add sudo between the environment variable definition and apt, otherwise the variable will not be propagated.

The HTTPS_PROXY environment variable may similarly be defined during uninstallation.

Note that installation and uninstallation will not necessarily fail if a proxy is required but not configured. However, telemetry won't be submitted, and the operation could take longer due to network timeouts.

Post installation configuration

After installation, configure Defender for Endpoint with a static proxy. This can be done in two ways:

1. Using mdatp command-line tool

Run the following command on the endpoint to configure proxy for Defender for Endpoint

mdatp config proxy set --value http://address:port

2. Using managed configuration

Set the proxy in the managed configuration at /etc/opt/microsoft/mdatp/managed/mdatp_managed.json. This is an example of the json schema:

{
  "cloudService":{
    "proxy": "http://proxy.server:port/"
  }
}

A management tool of choice can be used to deploy the above configuration. Please check Set preferences for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Linux for more details on managed configuration.

Tip

Do you want to learn more? Engage with the Microsoft Security community in our Tech Community: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Tech Community.