Network Access Protection Agent

The Network Access Protection Agent (napagent) service enables Network Access Protection (NAP) functionality on client computers. Information collected by NAP agent is used to make sure that the client computer has the required software and settings. If a client computer is not compliant with health policy, it can be provided with restricted network access until its configuration is updated. Depending on the configuration the NAP health policy and network policy, client computers might be automatically updated to comply with organizational software security policies such as mandatory updates, antivirus, signatures, and firewall configurations, so that users quickly regain full network access without having to manually update their computer.

This service is installed by default and its startup type is Manual. If you have a NAP infrastructure in place, its startup type is Automatic.

When the Network Access Protection Agent service is started in its default configuration, it logs on by using the Network Service account.

The Network Access Protection Agent service is dependent upon the following system components:

  • Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
  • DCOM Server Process Launcher
  • RPC Endpoint Mapper

Related content