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• August 25, 2004 •

Microsoft Releases Updated Baseline Security Analyzer

Microsoft has released an update to its security tool, dubbed the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA), which allows an individual home or corporate user or an administrator to scan one or more Windows-based computers for common security misconfigurations. Version 1.2.1 of MBSA is needed for Windows XP SP2 compatibility. MBSA runs on Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, and Windows XP systems and will scan for common security misconfigurations in the following products: Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0, SQL Server 7.0 and 2000, Internet Explorer (IE) 5.01 and later, and Office 2000, 2002 and 2003. MBSA also scans for missing security updates for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, IIS, SQL, Exchange, IE, Windows Media Player, MDAC, MSXML, Microsoft VM, Office, Content Management Server, Commerce Server, Host Integration Server, and BizTalk Server.

New in version 1.2.1:

  • Support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 security enhancements
  • Clear guidance for locating updates and necessary actions
  • Prioritize results more easily by showing summary counts for each score
  • Additional Product Support (scanning for security updates):
    • Microsoft Office (local scans only; see list of products)
    • Exchange Server 2003
    • MDAC 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8
    • Microsoft Virtual Machine
    • MSXML 2.5, 2.6, 3.0, and 4.0
    • BizTalk Server 2000, 2002, and 2004
    • Commerce Server 2000 and 2002
    • Content Management Server 2001 and 2002
    • Host Integration Server 2000, 2004, and SNA Server 4.0
  • Additional Configuration Checks:
    • Internet Connection Firewall configuration check
    • Automatic Updates configuration check
    • Internet Explorer zone configuration checks (custom Internet Explorer zone interpretation, Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration checks for Windows Server 2003)
    • MBSA tool version check (for new MBSA releases)
  • MBSA tool version check (for new MBSA releases)

System Requirements

The following are requirements for a computer running the tool:

  • Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP
  • Internet Explorer 5.01 and later
  • An XML parser is required (MSXML version 3.0 SP2) for the tool to function correctly. Systems not running IE 5.01 or greater will need to download and install an XML parser to run this tool. MSXML version 3.0 SP2 can be installed during tool setup, otherwise, you can download and install a standalone version of the Microsoft XML parser.
  • The IIS Common Files are required on the computer on which the tool is installed if performing remote scans of IIS computers
  • The Workstation service and Client for Microsoft Networks are turned on

The following are requirements for a computer to be scanned by the tool:

  • Windows NT 4.0 SP4 and later, Windows 2000, Windows XP (local scans only on Windows XP-based computers that use simple file sharing), or Windows Server 2003
  • IE 5.01 or later (to perform Internet Explorer security zones checks)
  • IIS 4.0, 5.0, 5.1 or 6.0 (required for IIS vulnerability checks)
  • SQL 7.0, 2000 (required for SQL vulnerability checks)
  • Microsoft Office 2000, XP, 2003 (required for Office vulnerability checks)
  • The following services must be installed: Server service, Remote Registry service, File and Print Sharing

Users who perform the scan must have local administrative credentials on each computer that they want to scan, regardless whether they perform a local scan or a remote scan. For remote scans, the administrative shares must be enabled on the scanned computer for MBSA to successfully connect and perform the scan.

You must have Internet access to download the Mssecure.cab file from the Microsoft Download Center. Mssecure.can is used for the security updates scan. If a previous copy of the Mssecure.can file was downloaded during a prior scan, MBSA will try to use the locally cached copy if an Internet connection is not detected.

Download

MBSA is available for download at the Microsoft download [English - 1.56 MB] Web site.

To download the French, German or Japanese version, select the desired language on the MBSA download page.

A technical white paper on MBSA is also available at the Microsoft TechNet Web site, while you can find some other information such as command line switches in Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 320454.

Running MBSA

Running MBSA



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Last Updated: August 25, 2004