JSI Tip 5174. How do I use the Secedit.sdb database to analyze security settings?

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 318711 contains the following summary:

This step-by-step article describes how to use the Secedit.sdb database to analyze your security settings. This analysis can identify security holes that may exist in your current configuration, and can also identify changes that will take place if you use a security template to configure your computer.

You can analyze your current settings against a baseline template at any time. This analysis is useful for several reasons:

• To identify security holes that may exist in a current configuration. 
• To identify the changes that a security policy may make before you actually deploy the security policy. 
• To identify deviations from a policy that is currently imposed on a computer.