Most of the security issues under Windows is due to errors of configuration on behalf of the users. User accounts of which the rights are too important, anonymous accesses activated, password too short or too old, not stopped points of vulnerability whereas the corrective measures exist, badly definite parameters of safety, useless services on the way, as many elements as you must check in order to make safe Windows as well as possible.

Conscious of that and to facilitate the task to you, Microsoft places at your disposal free utility MBSA (Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer).

This last will enable you to analyze your operating system (Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003) like various applications (Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, Windows Media Player, Office, IIS, SQL Server, Exchange Server, Microsoft Data Components Access, MSXML, Microsoft Virtual Machine, Commerce Server, Content Server Management, BizTalk Server and Host Integration Server), in the search of any failure to safety.

We thus will see in this tip how to use MBSA in order to analyze the safety of your computer and to correct the possible problems which it would have detected.

Install MBSA

1. Download last version of MBSA
2. Once downloaded, double click on the MBSASetup.msi file to start the installation. This one does not pose any problem; it is enough for you to follow the instructions given to the screen then to validate by OK when it is finished.
3. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer added an icon on the Desk. Double click above to carry out the program. You are then ready to analyze your system.

Analyze your system with MBSA

1. After having launched MBSA, you find yourselves on the screen of welcome of the tool where you must select the extent of your analysis, i.e. if this one relates to one or more computers (all those of your network for example). In this last case, it will be necessary for you to specify the name of the field then where the computers to analyze are or the beach of address IP.
2. You wish to analyze your computer, thus click on the Analyzer bond a computer.
3. The name of the computer on which you are is automatically detected. If you wish to test another computer of your network seize its name in the adequate field or its address IP.
4. You must then select the options of analysis, i.e. to choose the elements to be analyzed by notching the boxes of the options which you wish.
5. When you are fine loan, click on the Start bond the analysis.
6. MBSA downloads then since Microsoft last information of safety then carries out the analysis of your system.

To consider the results and to correct the problems

1. After a few minutes of analysis, the report/ratio of safety is finally posted.
2. In the first part of the report/ratio, you will find the security level of your configuration to knowing big risk, possible hazard…
3. The second part has the results of each test classified by group of checks. A score is allotted to each test. Thus, a Red Cross indicates to you that the critical test failed a yellow cross that the noncritical test failed and finally a green cross to announce you that the test is successful.
4. The objective is thus better to configure your system in order to make a success of all the tests and to thus limit the risks of safety. For each test which failed, a small description of the problem is indicated. To have more information on the problem, click on the Details bond.
5. Lastly, to have the instructions to correct the problems, click simply on the bond How to correct the problem. Information on the means of correcting the problem is then posted. Follow them.

When you think of having filled all the potential faults of the configuration of Windows, do not hesitate to remake a complete analysis to check that safety is then reinforced. Start again your computer with each modification to be sure that it is taken into account by the test.