Planning Baseline Security

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

The Windows 2000 Server Baseline Security Checklist provides instructions for configuring a baseline level of security on servers running Windows Server 2003. The checklist contains tasks such as using NTFS, using strong passwords, disabling unnecessary services, disabling unnecessary accounts, and more. For more information about the baseline security checklist, see the Windows 2000 Server Baseline Security Checklist link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.

Run the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (Mbsa.exe for the graphical user interface version; Mbsacli.exe for the command-line version). For more information about the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer, see the MBSA link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.

To further enhance security, review the Microsoft Windows Update Web site regularly for patches that fix vulnerabilities and provide security enhancements. For more information about Windows Update, see the Windows Update link on the Web Resources page at https://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources.