intuitively-obvious.info

If you have to monitor multiple Windows machines and need to keep an eye on events in either the Application log or Security log, LogParser 2.2 is the tool for you. From a command line, you can open, read, and export events using SQL commands for data retrieval and filtering. Not limited to windows event logs, this tool can also pull data from registries, Active Directory objects, and tab delimited files. Notice that it is such a useful tool, that Syngress even published a book on things to do with it. I’ve used it to pull data to monitor application problems and be able to find when certain events occurred and how frequently. Definitely a must have for any tool kit.

Windows SteadyState

This tool allows you to lock down your system so that changes can easily be undone or so that you can keep a system the same regardless of who uses it. This is useful in a lab environment where you need to be able to quickly return to a standard OS build and don’t want to have to reinstall from scratch.

Windows System State Analyzer

While this tool is found associated with the Windows Server 2008 Application Compatibility page, this tool is useful because it can do a comparison of files and registry settings from pre-install and post-install states of your computer. This is useful for documenting changes that occur on machines as applications are installed or patches are applied.

MBSA – Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

This tool is useful for several reasons. First, it can help you determine any potential security compromises that your system may have as determined by Microsoft. This will help you determine what missing patches you need to install to ensure that your system is up to date and patched. Second, if done as a “before and after” analysis after installing ANY software package, can help you determine if that package breaks or undoes any patches that have been applied to your system. In some cases, I have found that installing a MS product such as .NET or other applications installs older versions of drivers, dll’s, and other files, that open up vulnerabilities to your computer. In some cases, it’ll even break a service pack update. This will help determine what’s been undone so that you can reapply patches and/or service packs as necessary to maintain your system security.

if he’s even tracking this site anymore since I don’t make updates very often. Take a look at my new page under Interests called Windows Tool Tips. I’ll be posting info and links to Windows tools that I’ve found useful myself. Hopefully they will be useful to him and others who have a hankering to tweak and play with their installs (XP, Vista, Windows 7, etc) and are worried about possibly breaking things. Good luck, brave adventurers. Oh, and be sure to back up frequently.