One of the good useful tools from microsoft is the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyszer. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) is an easy-to-use tool that helps users to determine the PCs security state in accordance with Microsoft security recommendations and suggests fix security gaps found on the system. Improve your security management process by using MBSA to detect common security misconfigurations and missing security updates on your computer systems. Built on the Windows Update Agent and Microsoft Update infrastructure, MBSA ensures consistency with other Microsoft management products including Microsoft Update (MU), Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Systems Management Server (SMS) and Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM).
MBSA works on Windows 2000, Windows 2003 and Windows XP and checks for Microsoft Office suite for security issues as well. There is a new version still in beta which can support Windows Vista.
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can scan the local system as well as remote scan on the networked PCs.
Some of the security checks that MBSA runs include
Security Updates status
User Account security on the system
Logon security, User access restrictions and password security
Windows Services
File System shares and Security Auditing
Microsoft Office & Ms SQL server
Internet Explorer Security Settings
MBSA report is easy to understand and most if not all results have a “How to fix” option.
To download MBSA, click here.
For Windows Vista supported version (beta), click here
