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Firewall and antivirus software configuration for Lacerte

by Intuit•1• Updated 1 month ago

Below are the recommended exceptions and exclusions to add to your firewall and antivirus program for the proper operation of Lacerte.

Firewall configuration

Firewalls (hardware or software applications) exist to prevent unauthorized access to a computer or network. They may also block data transmissions, which can interfere with Lacerte communications. Most firewall applications have an option to allow or trust specific applications, but some may require port numbers, IP addresses, and/or URLs for successful communication. Refer to the firewall manufacturer's instructions on how to configure it.

If you are unsure how to configure your firewall, contact your IT professional.

Specific applications

The following files should be configured to allow or trust in your software firewall application.

Replace the YY in the examples below with the appropriate tax year to be configured. For example, for the 2024 Lacerte Tax program, WYYtax.exe will be the W24Tax.exe file located in the C:\Lacerte\24Tax folder.

File nameFile Path
cefsharp.browsersubprocess.exeC:\Lacerte\YYTax
Taxsetup.exeC:\Lacerte\YYTax\SetupYY
WYYTax.exeC:\Lacerte\YYTAX
WYYSetup.exe, WebSetupYY.exeC:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Lacerte Shared
updsched.exeC:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Lacerte Shared\Update scheduler

Port numbers, IP addresses and URLs

If you are using a hardware firewall (router/switch), it may need to be configured to allow certain ports, IP addresses, or URLs. Before doing so, first reset the router/switch and/or the cable/DSL modem. Refer to the manufacturer's instructions for resetting or configuring.

Lacerte uses the following TCP Ports (requires sockets):

  • 10010    = REP
  • 10030    = Preps (Email)
  • 10070    = Validate
  • 80           = E-file
  • 443         = E-file

Lacerte uses the following UDP Ports (socketless):

  • 1275       = Videos
  • 1277       = Video Control
  • 1278       = Audio/Video

The following IP Addresses are used to communicate to Lacerte:

Rep.LNet1.com currently rotates between:

a. 12.179.134.64

b. 199.16.136.83

c. 54.148.223.244

Webservices.lscsoft.com is currently rotating through:

a. 12.179.134.65

b. 199.16.142.213

c. 54.69.36.245

As IP addresses for specific hosts may change at any time, we recommend that if possible, the firewall should be configured to allow communication by domain or hostnames instead of IP. This includes entries for any of the domains listed in the URL section below. We also recommend that static IPs for Intuit servers are not added to your system's host's file.

The following URLs are used by various functions within the tax program and DMS:

  • HTTPS://*.INTUIT.com
  • HTTPS://*.INTUIT.net
  • HTTPS://*.LSCSOFT.com
  • HTTPS://*.LNET1.com
  • HTTPS://*.QUICKBASE.com
  • HTTPS://*.INTUITCDN.net
  • HTTPS://*.LACERTESOFTWARE.com

Lacerte updates specifically use webservicesfp.lscsoft.com and this URL is hosted using Akamai Technologies, a content delivery network (CDN). As such, its IP Address may vary or change without notice. When done from your network, the command nslookup webservicesfp.lscsoft.com will find the IP Address to use at any particular time. Contact your IT Consultant if you need assistance with the process.

  1. In Windows, navigate your Control Panel and select Internet Options from under Network and Internet.
    • You may also use the Search feature on your Windows taskbar to search for “internet options.”
  2. Select the Advanced tab, then Security tab.
  3. Verify Use TLS 1.2 is selected. If it isn't, then select the box.
  4. Select OK.
  1. In Windows, navigate your Control Panel and select Internet Options from under Network and Internet.
    • You may also use the Search feature on your Windows taskbar to search for “internet options.”
  2. Select the Security tab, then Trusted Sites.
  3. Select the Sites button.
  4. Make sure the box at the end, Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone, isn't selected.
  5. In the Add this website to the zone field, select the Add button and enter each of the above URLs one by one.
  6. Select OK.

Anti-virus configuration

Most antivirus programs include a real-time scan that continuously scans every file as it is accessed.  Even if a file isn't infected, this scanning will slow file access, or even prevent the file from being accessed when the program needs it. This can cause errors within the program or during installation. To reduce the likelihood of interference with the program and to improve performance, some specific locations should be excluded from that real-time scan. It's preferable to exclude entire folders rather than individual files to cover files that may have been changed or created by the program at a later time.  Allowing a regularly scheduled scan for these locations is encouraged, if no users are accessing the program during this time.

Disabling the antivirus real-time scan completely when doing an install or update may prevent errors that can occur even when the listed locations are excluded.

If you are not sure how to configure your antivirus software, contact your IT professional or the software vendor.

The following locations and their subfolders should be excluded from the real-time scan (not all antivirus programs can set exclusions by folder, refer to the bottom of this section if this is the case): default paths in parentheses, X: = network drive, YY = tax year

Lacerte 2024 has a new update method. Changes have been made to the folder structure and update process. For more information, see New for 2024: Lacerte Silent Updater

  • Program Path
    • C:\Lacerte\YYTax
    • Tax Planner: C:\Lacerte\YYTaxpln
  • System File Path / Option Path
    • Standalone: C:\Lacerte\YYTax
    • Network: X:\Lacerte\YYTax
  • Lacerte Data Paths
    • Up to nine for each year.
    • X:\Lacerte\YYTax\?data -where ? is a single letter of the tax type
  • Temporary/Configuration file locations
    • Lacerte folders inside the user's Application Data folder
      • For Lacerte 2009: C:\USERS\(username)\Appdata\Local\Lacerte\
      • For Lacerte 2010 and later: C:\USERS\(username)\Appdata\Roaming\Lacerte\
    • C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Lacerte Shared 
    • C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Intuit Shared 
    • C:\ProgramData\Lacerte
  • DMS:
    • C:\USERS\(username)\AppData\Local\DMSTemp
    • C:\Program Files (x86)\Intuit\DMS\
    • The path for your DMS Database
      • The Current Database Path is listed at the end of the DMS program window.

Generally, if you leave all locations the default, you may exclude the entire C:\Lacerte and X:\Lacerte (if network) folders to cover all years. You can verify the actual paths in the program by pressing the F10 button to open the Technical Support Information window under the System Information tab. You'll need to check each tax module separately to confirm the data paths.

If you aren't sure how to configure your antivirus software, contact your IT professional or the software vendor.

If your antivirus won't allow the exclusion of entire directories, these are the files that must be excluded:

  • wYYtax.exe, located inside of the corresponding YYtax folder.
  • All of the WebSetupYY.exe files, located inside of the Lacerte shared directory.
  • All of the WYYSetup.exe files, located inside of the Lacerte shared directory.
  • DMS.exe, located inside of the DMS folder.

Additional information

Here are links to some common security software help pages:

Intuit Document Management SystemLacerte Tax 2019Lacerte Tax 2020Lacerte Tax 2021Lacerte Tax 2022Lacerte Tax 2023Lacerte Tax 2024

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