Product guide

Basic preparations and recommendations

The following recommendations will make sure that your data is protected during and after the

encryption process.

As with any roll out and deployment, it is advisable to back up the system before

you encrypt it, and perform regular backups

It is good practice to back up the system before installing EEPC to ensure data is not lost in the

unlikely event a problem occurs. The EETech recovery tools can also be used to decrypt and recover

any unbootable disks. Please refer to the EETech User Guide for more information.

When upgrading EEPC the Mfeepehost service must not be stopped either manually or by third party

software since this can cause problems. Also note that during an upgrade the system must be kept

powered on until the software (both Host and Admin portions) complete installing.

CHKDSK /r Clean up the disk before you encrypt it

Hard disks that are damaged, or have a high number of undiscovered bad sectors, may fail during the

full disk encryption process. Run a CHKDSK /r command prior to installing EEPC to make sure the disk is

healthy. Optionally, run the OEM diagnostic tools to make sure that all other HW components are

working correctly.

Understand the supported tokens/readers for EEPC

Make sure that the supported reader drivers are installed in your client system before trying to install

Endpoint Encryption for PC. Make sure to obtain the correct drivers from the manufacturer website

and review their release notes to avoid any known issues with the tokens or readers. The supported

tokens and readers are listed in these KB articles:

• Supported Readers used for authentication in McAfee Endpoint Encryption for PC 6.x: https://

kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=KB71554

• Supported Tokens used for authentication in McAfee Endpoint Encryption for PC 6.x: https://

kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=KB71555

Maintain separate test and production clients

Enterprise administrators are advised to maintain separate test and production environments.

Modification to the production server should be limited. Use the test system to test software updates,

driver updates and Windows Service Packs prior to updating the production systems.

Build and test recovery tools

The administrator needs to be aware that there will be changes to the normal client boot process due

to installing EEPC. Administrators are advised to:

• Create and test the customized EETech WinPE V1 or V3 Disk with EEPC drivers installed.

• Create and test an EETech Standalone Boot disk.

Run a pilot test of software compatibility

We recommend that you run a pilot test of EEPC on a client system. This will make sure that EEPC is

not in conflict with any encryption software on the client computers before rolling out to a large

number of clients. EEGO can be a valuable tool to detect the presence of third party encryption

software that may prevent activation or create further issues with EEPC.

This is particularly useful in environments that use a standardized client image.

Deployment and activation

Basic preparations and recommendations

McAfee Endpoint Encryption for PC 6.2 Software Best Practices Guide