Windows 7 / Getting Started

Picking Computers to Scan

You can run MBSA against a single computer or multiple computers in a network. When you choose to scan a single computer. You can identify the computer to scan based on the computer name or its IP address.

You'll need administrative access to scan any computers using MBSA, so if you're scanning remote computers, you should be logged on with an account that is in the remote computer's Administrators group.

Tip When running MBSA in a domain, you should use a domain account that is added to the Administrators group of the desktop computers Most organizations create a group that is automatically added to the local Administrators group on desktop computers that desktop support personnel manage.

If you instead click the Scan Multiple Computers link of MBSA. You can choose to scan all the computers in a domain or all the computers in a range of IP addresses.

When MBSA is run, it will first connect to a Microsoft website to download the MBSA detection catalog (wsusscn2.cab). This catalog includes information about all available updates and security vulnerabilities. It is used to compare the existing updates and confi gurations on individual clients with a list of security updates that have been released along with known vulnerabilities. If the catalog has already been downloaded, MBSA will check to be sure it is up to date.

Note You can download the wsusscn2.cab catalog directly from Microsoft's site using this link: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=76054 This file can then be centrally located and used with the /catalog switch when using MBSACLI (the command-line equivalent of MBSA).

The previous version of the cabinet fi le was named wsusscan.cab and is still available. However, wsusscan.cab has not been updated since March 2007 and doesn't include updates and security vulnerabilities since then. You need to use the wsusscn2.cab fi le to ensure that you are checking against the most recent data.

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In this tutorial:

  1. Windows 7 and Other software Up to Date
  2. Understanding Windows Live
  3. Updates versus upgrades
  4. Why updates are important
  5. Windows Update
  6. Windows Update: The essentials
  7. Types of Updates
  8. Completing an Update
  9. Configuring automatic Updating
  10. Windows Update Applet and Functions
  11. Manually Install Updates Using Windows Update
  12. Action Center
  13. Updates Do Not Install Properly
  14. Other Windows Update Settings
  15. Configuring Windows 7 Update to Use a Proxy Server
  16. Can't Find Hidden Update
  17. Viewing and Changing Installed Updates
  18. Can't Uninstall Current Update
  19. Upgrade Windows Anytime
  20. Understanding Windows Server Update Services
  21. Windows Update Policies
  22. Updating Drivers
  23. Using Device Manager to Update Drivers
  24. Windows Update Driver Settings
  25. Windows 7 Service Packs
  26. Basic Service Pack Information
  27. Installation of Service Packs
  28. Installing and Removing Software
  29. Installation via CD or DVD
  30. Problem Installing from Disc
  31. Installation via Downloaded Program
  32. Viewing and Changing Programs
  33. Uninstalling Software
  34. Compatibility Issues in 64-Bit Version
  35. Upgrade Issues with 64-Bit Windows 7
  36. Other Program Compatibility Issues
  37. Side-by-Side Installs and Virtual Registries
  38. Removing Updates from Windows 7
  39. Thwarting Exploits with DEP
  40. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer
  41. Picking Computers to Scan
  42. Vulnerability Checks
  43. Installing MBSA
  44. Running the MBSA
  45. Running the MBSACLI
  46. MBSACLI Location
  47. Running in an Isolated Environment
  48. Using Windows Server Update Services
  49. WSUS Updates
  50. WSUS Requirements
  51. Installing, Configuring, and Using WSUS
  52. Adding the Application Server and Web Server (IIS) Roles
  53. Installing the Report Viewer
  54. Installing WSUS
  55. Configuring Group Policy Settings for WSUS
  56. Creating a GPO to Configure Clients to Use WSUS
  57. Verifying That Clients Are Using GPO Settings for WSUS
  58. Verifying That Clients Are Using GPO Settings with GPResult
  59. Creating Computer Groups on WSUS
  60. Approving Updates in WSUS
  61. Viewing WSUS Reports