Antivirus Configuration Recommendations for Vinyl¶

The activities of antivirus (AV) software can interfere with the operation of Vinyl and might also detrimentally impact performance. The following are Jitterbit's recommendations for AV exclusion configuration on the Vinyl application server. They are not targeted at a specific AV software product so are general in nature, and designed to be understood and implemented by AV and server administrators. These recommendations should not compromise security and are in line with Microsoft's own recommendations.

Option 1 – Windows Defender¶

Windows Defender is built into Windows Server and if this is the only AV tool in use then most of the needed exclusions are taken care of automatically when the Web Server Role is installed. The only additional configuration required is to exclude the vinyl.exe file within the C:\inetpub\wwwroot\ directory structure. If Vinyl has been installed outside of that directory hierarchy, then the entire directory containing it (the "Vinyl Installation Directory") should be excluded.

For reference, Microsoft's documentation on Windows Defender exclusions for web applications may be found here.

Option 2 – Third Party AV Products¶

The following directory structures should be excluded from the third-party AV software's activities:

• C:\inetpub\wwwroot directory;
• If Vinyl is not installed under \wwwroot\, then the Vinyl installation directory should be excluded separately;
• Windows system files, including .NET Framework directories should also be excluded;
• The AspNetCoreModule, located at: %SystemRoot%\system32\inetsrv\aspnetcore.dll should also be excluded.

This Microsoft link provides more detail on exclusions for .NET framework directories. Additional directories following the same pattern may need to be excluded depending on the specific .NET versions installed.