Trend Micro Deep Security Anti-malware Driver Offline Not Installed [work]
The status "Anti-Malware: Driver offline / Not installed" indicates that the Deep Security Agent (DSA) cannot communicate with or find the required anti-malware kernel drivers on the host system
Method D: Windows Specific Fix
| Symptom | Likely Cause | Fix | |---------|--------------|-----| | Driver not listed in sc query | Feature not installed | Reinstall agent with full anti-malware package from offline installer | | Driver present but not started | Missing signature files | Copy signatures from online machine to offline system | | Agent says “Requires activation” | No DSM connection | Configure agent to communicate with DSM via static IP (offline network) | | Installation fails with error 0x8004xxxx | Corrupt offline package | Redownload and verify checksums | The status "Anti-Malware: Driver offline / Not installed"
Apply the latest Microsoft Windows Updates to ensure root certificates are current. Immediate loss of real-time malware protection on affected
- Location:
%ProgramData%\Trend Micro\Deep Security Agent\Diagnostic\ - Search for:
VSAPI,AMDriver,LoadLibrary,ERROR_SERVICE_NOT_FOUND,0x80070002(file missing),0x80070005(access denied),0xC0000428(invalid image hash).
- Immediate loss of real-time malware protection on affected hosts.
- Increased risk for production workloads, especially internet-facing or shared infrastructure.
- Operational overhead: manual remediation, host reboots, rollback/upgrade coordination.
- Compliance and reporting gaps—automated compliance checks flag unprotected systems.
- The anti-malware driver is missing from the VM’s operating system (agent-based deployments).
- The hypervisor integration service (VMware Tools/Hyper-V Integration Services) is not running or outdated.
- The Deep Security Virtual Appliance (DSVA) cannot communicate with the ESXi host or Hyper-V server.