Auditing Windows XP Professional Computers


Although Windows XP Professional is a client operating system, it can be used in SOHO environments to provide file and print shares for other computers on the network. And Windows XP Professional does include the Event Viewer, which enables you to monitor activity on the computer.

As with Windows NT/2000/2003, you must first set up the events to audit. The interface (the Microsoft Management Console, or MMC) is used to perform this function just as it is in Windows 2000/2003. However, for Windows XP you are auditing actions taken on the XP computer, not events for the domain. This is because Windows XP cannot be a domain controller in the network.

To set up the events to audit, click on Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools. When the Administrative Tools folder appears, click on the Local Security Policy icon. You will see there (as shown in Figure 47.16) that the local security policy MMC interface looks a lot like the domain interface.

Figure 47.16. The Windows XP Local Security Settings window is similar to the Windows 2000/2003 domain security window.

graphics/47fig16.gif

Setting up security policies for such things as the password policy and setting up auditing for the computer are similar to the same tasks for Windows 2000/2003.

You can also use the Event Viewer with Windows XP. In Figure 47.17, you can see an example of this utility. Use Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools. Click on Event Viewer.

Figure 47.17. The Windows XP Event Viewer enables you to monitor selected significant events.

graphics/47fig17.gif

Because Windows XP does not host applications such as DNS, you will not see these items included in the left pane of the Event Viewer. Keep in mind that this is a client operating system. The capability for auditing and viewing significant events, however, is a good feature that makes Windows XP an ideal pseudo-server for small networks that do not need the capabilities offered by Windows server operating systems.



Upgrading and Repairing Networks
Upgrading and Repairing Networks (5th Edition)
ISBN: 078973530X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 434

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