Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer Available

Microsoft's new Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) is now available at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;\[LN\];Q320454 . The site provides information about and a link to download the security tool. This tool centrally scans Windows-based computers for common security misconfigurations. MBSA, which runs on Windows 2000 and Windows XP, can scan for missing hotfixes and security vulnerabilities on XP-, Win2K-, and Windows NT 4.0-based computers. For each computer that it scans, MBSA generates a report detailing security holes in Windows, SQL Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), and Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE). The tool includes a GUI and a command-line interface.

MBSA can scan SQL Server 7.0; SQL Server 7.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1), SP2, and SP3; and all editions of SQL Server 2000 SP1. The tool checks for vulnerabilities on the first (default) instance of SQL Server that it finds on the computer. If MBSA doesn't find a default instance, it checks the first named instance that it finds. Microsoft says that a future version of the tool might support scanning multiple versions of SQL Server.