ENTERPRISE LEVEL CLOUD AGENT SETUP

To get the Qualys agent setup file for a Windows machine from your console, you need to navigate to the Cloud Agent application within the Qualys Cloud Platform. From there, you will access the installer and the necessary activation details.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Log in to your Qualys Cloud Platform account.
2. From the application picker in the upper-left corner, select the Cloud Agent module.
3. In the Cloud Agent UI, navigate to Agent Management > Activation Keys.
4. You can either select an existing activation key or click New Key to generate a new one. An activation key is required to group your agents and tie them to your account.
5. With an activation key selected, click the Install Agent option from the Quick Actions menu.
6. A window will appear with installation instructions and the download link. Select the Windows (.exe) or Windows (.msi) option.
7. Click the Download button to download the agent installer to your local machine. The installation command, which includes your unique Activation ID and Customer ID, will also be displayed.

After downloading the file, you will need to:

• Copy the installer to the target Windows machine.
• Run the installation command from an elevated command prompt on that machine.
• Ensure that your hosts can communicate with the Qualys Cloud Platform over HTTPS port 443.

LOCAL VM SETUP

1. Introduction to Vulnerability Management and Qualys

• The vulnerability management process is continuous and includes:
  • Discovering vulnerabilities
  • Prioritizing assets
  • Assessing vulnerabilities
  • Reporting to SMEs
  • Overseeing remediation
  • Verifying remediation through re-scanning
• The lab simulates this workflow and provides experience that can be added to a resume.
• Qualys is introduced as a widely-used tool for vulnerability scanning and threat assessment.
• The Qualys Community Edition (free version) allows scans of up to 19 devices, sufficient for lab use.