A. Microsoft has released the second major version of the MBSA tool, which you can download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4b4aba06-b5f9-4dad-be9d-7b51ec2e5ac9&DisplayLang=en. MBSA 2.0 is supported on Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. The tool scans various machine configurations including
- the base OS
- Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) 5.0 and later
- Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 5.01 and later
- missing security updates, update rollups, and service packs that have been published to Microsoft Update
- Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 and later
- Microsoft Office 2000 and later
MBSA can scan local or remote computers and can simultaneously scan multiple computers, depending on domain membership or IP range. MBSA runs in a friendly, intuitive interface that guides you though its use. The tool connects to Microsoft servers to download information about the latest available fixes, then scans the selected computers to determine whether they comply with company policy. If MBSA finds a problem, it provides information about how to resolve the problem. To run MBSA in command-line mode, use the mbsacli.exe command instead of the standard mbsa.exe command.