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Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) is an easy-to-use tool designed
for the IT professional that helps small- and medium-sized businesses
determine their security state in accordance with Microsoft security
recommendations and offers specific remediation guidance. Improve your security
management process by using MBSA to detect common security misconfigurations
and missing security updates on your computer systems.

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MBSA 2.1 (Beta)

MBSA 2.1 is an update to MBSA 2.0.1 to enable full Windows Vista compatibility.
The MBSA 2.1 page has more information.

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MBSA 2.0.1
MBSA 2.0.1 is an update to MBSA 2.0 to enable compatibility with the new Windows
Update offline scan file. (For information on the new scan file, see
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926464.) This fix enables MBSA to download and
read the new file format.
MBSA 2.0.1 offers an intuitive user interface and more informative dialogs compared
to previous versions. Using the new Windows Update Agent and Microsoft Update
catalog, MBSA 2.0.1 has automatically expanding product support.
Users who primarily have the following products in their environment should switch
to MBSA 2.0.1 today.

Windows 2000+ SP3 and later

Office XP+ and later
Exchange 2000+ and later
SQL Server 2000 SP4+
For a complete list of products supported by MBSA 2.0.1, which is based on
Microsoft Update (MU) and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) technologies,
visit the Products Supported by WSUS page.
MBSA 2.0.1 is compatible with Microsoft Update and Windows Server Update
Services and the SMS Inventory Tool for Microsoft Update (ITMU). MBSA 2.0.1
offers customers improved Windows component support, expanded platform support
for XP Embedded and 64-bit Windows, as well as more consistent and less complex
security update management experience.
Unless specifically noted, all references to MBSA 2.0 in the MBSA TechNet pages
also apply to MBSA 2.0.1.
Legacy Product Support: For customers using legacy products not supported by
MBSA 2.0.1, Microsoft Update, and WSUS, Shavlik Technologies provides a free
MBSA 2.0.1 companion tool called Shavlik NetChk Limited.
Users who have the following products in their environment can use Shavlik NetChk
Limited to augment MBSA 2.0.1 results for comprehensive security update
detection.

Office 2000
ISA Server 2000

 FrontPage Server Extensions 2000/2002

Visual Studio .Net 2002/2003
SQL Server 7.0/2000
Other products not included in Microsoft Update's supported product list
For more information about Shavlik NetChk Limited, or to download the tool, visit
the Shavlik NetChk Limited page on Shavlik's Web site.
The third-party tool provided at the link above is manufactured by a company that is
independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise,
regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

MBSA 1.2.1
MBSA 1.2.1 is an outdated version of MBSA that may be helpful for customers that
need support for platforms that are no longer in public support (Windows NT 4,
Windows 2000 SP3 and lower, Exchange 5.0 and 5.5) or are not supported by
Microsoft Update (Office 2000).
Users who have the following products in their environment may need to continue to
use MBSA 1.2.1 to achieve full update detection.

Office 2000
Exchange 5.0 and 5.5
Other products supported by MBSA 1.2.1 but not Microsoft Update
MBSA 1.2.1 is only compatible with Software Update Services (SUS).
As part of Microsofts continued commitment to security and to help with
enterprise security compliance, customers are strongly encouraged to upgrade to
MBSA 2.0.1 or the MBSA 2.1 beta.
Based on Microsoft Update and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)
technologies, MBSA 2.x provides customers with authoritative security results
consistent with Microsoft Update and WSUS, provides support for 64-bit and XP
Embedded operating systems and includes dynamic support for new Microsoft
products as they are released. Customers who meet the WSUS baseline of the
latest supported products (found here) should already be using MBSA 2.0.1 in
their environments.
For customers using products not supported by MBSA 2.0.1, Microsoft Update and
WSUS, Microsoft is working with partners to provide a new limited support tool to
be released in the future. Like MBSA scan tools, this new legacy scan tool will be
provided to Microsoft customers at no charge.
Until this limited tool is released, Microsoft encourages customers to use MBSA 2.x
and augment those results with MBSA 1.2.1 and the Enterprise Scan Tool for
comprehensive security update detection until this new legacy scan tool is
released.
Microsoft will continue to support MBSA 1.2.1 for legacy security update detection
for six months after the new MBSA 2.0 limited scan tool is released (expected in
Q2 of 2007). After October 9, 2007, the MSSecure.XML file used by MBSA 1.2.1
will no longer be updated. After this date, no new security updates will be added
to the MSSecure.XML file used by MBSA 1.2.1 and no new versions of the
Enterprise Scan Tool will be released.
Customers should use MBSA 2.0.1 or MBSA 2.1 together with the upcoming
limited scan tool for comprehensive security update and vulnerability assessment
needs.

Additional Links
MBSA Newsgroups
Server: news.microsoft.com
Group: microsoft.public.security.baseline_analyzer
Security Update Management Tools
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