Q. Are there any Web sites that can check my machine's security?
A. Microsoft has a new Web site
( http://www.microsoft.com/technet/mpsa/start.asp ) that uses an
Active X plug-in to perform security checks on your system. The checks
include
* Account password strength
* Internet Explorer (IE)/Outlook zones
* Macro settings for Office
* Auditing
* Password length
* Service packs
* Shares
* Auto logon
* Anonymous access
* File systems
* Services
For any problem the site finds, it provides a solution and detailed
implementation instructions. Microsoft designed the site for Windows
NT and Windows 2000 machines, but the site also works with Windows XP.
-------------------
Q. Can any tools identify whether a system is missing important
service packs?
A. In "How can I check which hotfixes a remote system has installed?"
(see the URL at the end of this FAQ), I discussed CmdInfo, a freeware
utility ( available at http://www.savilltech.com/cmdinfo.html ) that
you can use to test whether a hotfix is installed on local and remote
machines. Recently, Microsoft released a new tool, hfnetchk, that
communicates with a constantly updated list of hotfixes stored on the
Microsoft Web site and can determine whether your system is missing
any critical fixes. You can use hfnetchk to scan one computer, a group
of computers, or a whole domain. See Microsoft article Q303215 for
further information:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q303/2/15.asp
You can download hfnetchk from the following site:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?releaseid=31154
Here is a sample execution:
D:\temp>hfnetchk -i 200.200.200.1
Microsoft Network Security Hotfix Checker, 3.1
Developed for Microsoft by Shavlik Technologies, LLC
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (www.shavlik.com)
** Attempting to download the XML from
http://download.microsoft.com/download/x
ml/security/1.0/NT5/EN-US/mssecure.cab. **
** File was successfully downloaded. **
** Attempting to load D:\temp\mssecure.xml. **
Using XML data version = 1.0.1.137 Last modified on 8/21/2001.
Scanning 200.200.200.1
Done scanning 200.200.200.1
----------------------------
200.200.200.1
----------------------------
WINDOWS 2000 ADVANCED SERVER SP2
Patch NOT Found MS00-077 Q299796
Patch NOT Found MS00-079 Q276471
Patch NOT Found MS01-007 Q285851
Patch NOT Found MS01-013 Q285156
WARNING MS01-022 Q296441
Patch NOT Found MS01-025 Q296185
Patch NOT Found MS01-031 Q299553
Patch NOT Found MS01-036 Q299687
Patch NOT Found MS01-037 Q302755
Patch NOT Found MS01-040 Q292435
Patch NOT Found MS01-041 Q298012
Patch NOT Found MS01-043 Q303984
Patch NOT Found MS01-046 Q252795
Internet Information Services 5.0
Patch NOT Found MS01-025 Q296185
Patch NOT Found MS01-044 Q301625
Internet Explorer 5.5 SP1
Patch NOT Found MS00-093 Q279328
Patch NOT Found MS01-015 Q286043
SQL Server 2000 Gold
WARNING MS00-092 Q280380
WARNING MS01-032 Q299717
WARNING MS01-041 Q298012
http://www.windows2000faq.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=22226
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