Add the Code42 agent installer to a gold image

Overview

There are two methods for including the Code42 agent in a gold image and deploying it to user devices:

Use a deployment policy with a custom user detection script that excludes the usernames of administrators deploying the Code42 agent.
Include only the installer files. Do not run the installer or otherwise install the app until after you deploy the gold image to a user device. The sequence is critical:

Considerations

This article uses the term gold image to describe a template for imaging user devices that includes pre-configured operating system files, settings, and applications. Other names for this concept include base image, clone image, system image, and desktop image.
Gold images and devices must meet Code42 agent system requirements.
For help with customization and scripts for Code42 agent installers, contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) to engage the Professional Services team.

Insider risk agent

Exclude administrators in your custom user detection script

Excluding specific administrator users in the custom user detection script ensures the insider risk agent waits to perform the installation until the end user signs in to the device.

Sample excerpts of customer user detection scripts with excluded administrator users are listed below. See Deployment script and command reference for the backup and legacy agents for complete details. If you need help customizing a script for your Code42 environment, contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) to engage the Professional Services team.

Windows script excerpt

REM List of Excluded users that shouldn't be used for Code42 install.
FOR %%G IN ("user1"
            "user2"
            "user3"
            "admin"
            "Administrator") DO (
            IF /I "%currentuser%"=="%%~G" GOTO NOMATCH
)

:NOMATCH
echo Excluded or null user detected (%currentuser%).  Will retry user detection in 60 minutes, or when reboot occurs.
GOTO :EOF

Mac script excerpt

if [[ "$user" =~ ^(admin1|admin2|admin3)$ ]] || [[ -z "$user" ]]; then
    writeLog "Excluded or null username detected ($user). Will retry user detection in 60 minutes, or when reboot occurs."
    exit

Backup agent and legacy agent

Method 1: Exclude administrators in your custom user detection script

Excluding specific administrator users in the custom user detection script ensures the Code42 agent waits to perform the installation until the end user signs in to the device.

Sample excerpts of customer user detection scripts with excluded administrator users are listed below. See Deployment script and command reference for the backup and legacy agents for complete details. If you need help customizing a script for your Code42 environment, contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) to engage the Professional Services team.

Windows script excerpt

REM List of Excluded users that shouldn't be used for Code42 install.
FOR %%G IN ("user1"
            "user2"
            "user3"
            "admin"
            "Administrator") DO (
            IF /I "%currentuser%"=="%%~G" GOTO NOMATCH
)

:NOMATCH
echo Excluded or null user detected (%currentuser%).  Will retry user detection in 60 minutes, or when reboot occurs.
GOTO :EOF

Mac script excerpt

if [[ "$user" =~ ^(admin1|admin2|admin3)$ ]] || [[ -z "$user" ]]; then
    writeLog "Excluded or null username detected ($user). Will retry user detection in 60 minutes, or when reboot occurs."
    exit

Method 2: Deploy only the installer package

Deploying only the installer package to a gold image helps ensure that the Code42 agent detects the correct user, because the installer is executed by the user and not the administrator who deployed the gold image.

Step 1: Get installer files for Code42 agents

There are multiple ways to install Code42 agents, depending on how you wish to authenticate users and devices when the app installs and connects to theCode42 cloud.

The article Manage agent installations in your Code42 environment describes three options.

Select one option, and follow the linked instructions until you are told to run an install command or installer executable.

Do not run any install command or installer executable.
Instead, proceed to Step 2: Copy your installer files to your gold image.

Option 1: Deploy Code42 agents silently with SSO

For a Code42 environment that uses SSO authentication, customize Code42 installers to connect and authenticate automatically. No user intervention is necessary.

Option 2: Install the default Code42 agent

Use the default Code42 installer executable, with no customization. The app opens a desktop interface and prompts the user for:

Username and password
Registration key (the identifier for for your Code42 organization)
Server address (the domain URL of the Code42 cloud)

Step 2: Copy your installer files to your gold image

How you copy your Code42 installer files onto your base image depends on your software management tool.

How many and which files you copy also depends on your situation:

Installer executables are *.msi, *.dmg, or *.tgz files, depending on the image's operating system.
Mac installations include a plain-text configuration file, deploy.properties.
Installers are typically invoked with scripts that provide your custom command arguments.

Step 3: Deploy your gold image to your devices

How you deploy a base image to devices is outside the scope of this article. However, you must deploy the image before invoking the installer for the Code42 agent.

Step 4: Run the Code42 agent installers on your devices

Use a software management tool or the device operating system to launch a script or task that runs the Code42 agent installer.

For SSO and manual sign on (options 1 and 2 above), the installer needs to run after a user logs in to the device, because the most recently logged in username becomes the name used to sign in to the Code42 agent.