Alibaba Cloud provides ECS users who meet the requirements with a free Comprehensive Host Protection benefit for 1 ECS instance, which includes three security capabilities: Enterprise Edition host protection, Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), and vulnerability remediation. This benefit gives you enterprise-grade security protection that covers scenarios such as server ransomware protection, active defense, and malicious behavior blocking.
Eligibility
Alibaba Cloud accounts that meet all of the following conditions can claim this benefit:
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You are currently a Free Edition user of Security Center.
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You have never bound the new version of the ECS Complimentary Protection Enterprise Edition billing item.
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You do not currently hold any Security Center subscription instance.
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All pay-as-you-go switches in Security Center are currently disabled.
Each Alibaba Cloud account can claim this benefit only once and cannot claim it again. After claiming, the benefit has no expiration date. You can unbind the current ECS instance and rebind another ECS instance on the Authorization Management page of Security Center at any time. Only 1 instance can be bound at any given time.
Benefit details
This benefit includes three capabilities: Comprehensive Host Protection, Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), and system vulnerability remediation. All free quotas are allocated on a calendar-day basis, and unused quotas do not roll over to the next day.
Benefit list
|
Item |
Free quota |
Security capabilities |
|
Comprehensive host protection (Enterprise Edition) |
1 ECS instance |
Server ransomware protection, active security defense, real-time malicious behavior blocking, virus scanning, and other security capabilities. |
|
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) |
Unlimited scans per day within the scope of 1 ECS instance |
Performs cloud product configuration risk checks and baseline risk checks on the bound free ECS instance. The system randomly schedules one automatic scan per week and can remediate configuration risks on the host. |
|
System vulnerability remediation |
1 remediation authorization per day |
Remediating 1 system vulnerability on a single ECS instance consumes 1 authorization. The daily quota is allocated on a calendar-day basis and unused quotas do not roll over to the next day. |
How to claim the benefit
This benefit can be claimed through two entry points: the ECS purchase page and the ECS console. After you claim the benefit, the system automatically completes the initial configuration.
Entry point 1: Claim on the ECS purchase page
When you purchase a new ECS instance on the ECS purchase page, if your account is eligible, you can claim this benefit during the purchase flow. To claim, perform the following steps:
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Go to the ECS purchase page and configure the instance parameters.
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In the Instance and Image section, confirm that the Comprehensive Host Protection option is selected by default.
The system randomly selects 1 instance from the current purchase batch and automatically sets its protection level to Comprehensive Host Protection (Enterprise Edition). If you purchase only 1 instance, the system directly binds that instance. Each Alibaba Cloud account can enjoy the free protection quota for only 1 ECS instance.
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Complete the purchase and payment. The system automatically completes the following configuration:
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Activates a pay-as-you-go Security Center instance (creates a new one if you have never activated Security Center, or reuses the existing one).
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Enables three pay-as-you-go switches: host protection, CSPM, and vulnerability remediation.
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Binds the selected ECS instance to ECS Complimentary Protection and configures the CSPM scan scope to this instance with a weekly scan cycle.
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Entry point 2: Claim through the ECS console pop-up
Users who have purchased ECS instances and meet the eligibility conditions will see a benefit claim guide pop up automatically when logging in to the ECS console. To claim, perform the following steps:
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Go to the Instances page of the ECS console.
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In the pop-up, click Activate and Claim in One Click.
The system automatically selects 1 ECS instance from your existing ECS instances as the free protection instance and completes the following initialization:
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Activates a pay-as-you-go Security Center instance.
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Enables the three pay-as-you-go switches: host protection, CSPM, and vulnerability remediation.
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Binds the selected ECS instance to ECS Complimentary Protection and configures the CSPM scan scope to this instance with a weekly scan cycle.
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After the benefit is claimed, go to the target ECS instance details page and click the Security Protection tab to view the protection status. The tab displays a risk overview and four sub-tabs: Security Alerts, Vulnerabilities, Cloud Security Posture Management, and Security Control Events. You can view and handle security issues directly in the ECS console.
Verify whether the CSPM scan scope has been configured after claiming: After you claim the benefit, go to the Cloud Security Posture Management page in the Security Center console and confirm that the bound ECS instance has been added to the scan scope. If it has not been added automatically, add the instance manually to avoid affecting the CSPM scan feature.
Billing rules for over-quota usage
Security Center supports two billing methods: pay-as-you-go and subscription. After you claim this benefit, any usage that exceeds the free quota is billed on a pay-as-you-go basis by default. You can also upgrade to a subscription on the Security Center purchase page for discounts.
|
Benefit item |
Billing rules for over-quota usage |
|
Comprehensive Host Protection |
After the free quota for 1 instance is used up (equivalent to continuous protection of 1 instance for 1 day), starting from the 2nd ECS instance, you are charged at the Enterprise Edition unit price and billed per second, settled per calendar day. The billing item is |
|
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) |
After the scan scope exceeds 1 free instance, you are billed by the number of additional instances at USD 0.0732 per instance per day, settled per calendar day. The billing item is |
|
Vulnerability remediation |
After the daily free quota of 1 remediation is used up, you are charged USD 0.3 per remediation, settled per calendar day. For more information, see Vulnerability remediation. |
Overage billing applies only when you bind more than 1 ECS instance, when the CSPM scan scope exceeds 1 instance, or when the vulnerability remediation count exceeds 1 per day.
FAQ
Q: How can I check the usage of my claimed free quota?
A: Log on to the ECS console, go to the target ECS instance details page, click the Security Protection tab, and view the daily free quota usage of Comprehensive Host Protection, Cloud Security Posture Management, and system vulnerability remediation in the Security Benefits section.
Q: Can I change the bound free protection ECS instance?
A: Yes. Log on to the Security Center console, unbind the current instance on the Authorization Management page, and then bind another ECS instance. Only 1 instance can be bound at any given time to enjoy the free quota.
Q: How is the 2nd or subsequent ECS instance billed?
A: Starting from the 2nd instance, you are charged at the Enterprise Edition unit price, billed per second and settled per calendar day. The billing item is Enterprise_Instance_Postpaid. To enable comprehensive protection for more instances, go to the Security Center console to enable it manually, or upgrade to subscription on the Security Center purchase page for discounts.
Q: How do I disable the protection service?
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Go to the Security Center console.
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In the Pay-as-you-go Service section, click Disable with One Click.
Q: Can the daily free quota of 1 vulnerability remediation be accumulated if unused?
A: No. The daily quota of 1 free remediation is allocated on a calendar-day basis and unused quotas do not roll over to the next day.
Q: After claiming this benefit, can I purchase a subscription version of Security Center at the same time?
A: No, they cannot coexist. This benefit essentially allocates free quotas based on the pay-as-you-go instance of Security Center, and the pay-as-you-go and subscription billing methods cannot exist at the same time. If you want to purchase a subscription, first go to the Security Center console to manually disable the pay-as-you-go service, and then purchase the subscription.
Q: How can I contact you for other issues?
A: Please contact us via . Thank you for your understanding.