The Bottom Line
MBSA is not perfect- but for the money you can't beat it! Because it looks for registry keys and not actual vulnerabilities it may miss some things, but its great for a quick and free tool.
Pros
- It's FREE!
- Creates a report viewable in a web browser
- Links to detailed information to fix weaknesses
Cons
- May conflict with Windows Update site scan
- Not able to detect workarounds
Description
- A free tool from Microsoft to analyze your security configuration
- The report will supply a checklist of problems found
- The report contains instructions for repairing the problem with links to the relevant information
- Version 1.1.1, released in June of 2003, has been updated to work with Windows 2003 Server as well
Guide Review - Product Review: Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer
In response to the avalanche of criticism Microsoft has received regarding the security of their products, Microsoft created a free tool to analyze your security configuration. The Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) can be used to detect security configuration errors on the local computer or remotely across a network. The tool does not work flawlessly. Some Microsoft Security Bulletins contain workarounds or manual fixes rather than patches to install. For these items MBSA will report yellow X’s to signify that it can not tell whether or not you have taken the appropriate steps to repair the vulnerability. It is not as comprehensive as some commercial products, but it does a good enough job for most cases and the price is right.