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Restoring your MacOS device(s)

Restore your target(s) in three easy steps

Updated yesterday

How do I know if it has been restored?

Head to Targets > Licenses and select 'Internal' from the 'Target type' dropdown:

If they have been restored, they'll look like this:

If they haven't been restored, they'll be greyed out and look like this:


How do I manually restore my internal targets?

1. Unlink

sudo /Library/NessusAgent/run/sbin/nessuscli agent unlink

2. Relink

Using the same target name you used initially to link the device, please run this command (replace [Prefix_TargetName] with your account Prefix and the Target Name - see below)

sudo /Library/NessusAgent/run/sbin/nessuscli agent link --host="cloud.tenable.com" --port="443" --key=819652a91d674e8d5be08e21299f1a3c69bd9806c72e24bc05df6b32b8db7fe1 --name=[Prefix_Targetname]

3. Check that it worked

⚠️ You must run the command using sudo, in the folder when nessucli is installed (default locations below):

sudo /Library/NessusAgent/run/sbin/nessuscli agent status

The most common output (and next steps, if necessary) can be found here.


4. Kick off a scan

You can do this from several places in the portal, but the easiest is from the targets page. Simply select the target(s) and hit scan:


Frequently Asked Questions

What does this mean for my licenses?

Once relinked and restored, the target will continue to use the same license, with the consumption period being reset by the next scan you run on it. No additional licenses are required.

What does this mean for my tags?

Once the target has been restored, the tags will be too.

What does this mean for my scheduled scans?

  • If all targets in the scheduled scan were deleted, you’ll need to recreate the scheduled scan

  • If some of the targets in the scheduled scans were deleted, you’ll need to re-add them to the schedule once relinked

  • If the scheduled scan was based on a tag, and only some of the targets were deleted, the tagged targets will be re-added to the scan once relinked.

What if I use group deployment?

If you used a tool to automate the rollout when you first deployed the agent, then it's probably best to automate the unlinking and relinking, too. Unfortunately, we can't offer any specific guidance or instructions on this, as the method and software used will be unique.

Where can I find my prefix?

Click Targets > Add target > Mass deployment:

Copy the Prefix (the one below has been redacted):

What is the target name?

The name you give to your device, so you can easily identify it in the portal.

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