What is required for agentless malware protection to function on a virtual machine?

Agentless malware protection is designed to operate without requiring software agents to be installed directly on each virtual machine. This method relies on existing virtualization infrastructure and techniques to provide security services. The fundamental aspect of agentless protection is that it leverages capabilities built into the hypervisor or the cloud environment to monitor and protect virtual machines.

By not needing any components installed on the virtual machines, agentless malware protection simplifies deployment, reduces overhead on system resources, and maintains the performance of the virtual machines. This approach allows security features to be applied consistently across all VMs without the need for individual installation and maintenance of software agents.

The other options focus on aspects that are not necessary for the effective implementation of agentless malware protection. For instance, installing additional software components would negate the purpose of an agentless solution, while manual licensing for each VM would complicate the licensing process unnecessarily. Additionally, while monitoring by an administrator might play a role in the overall security strategy, it is not a prerequisite for the agentless malware protection itself to function.