Archive for the ‘SCM’ Tag

SCM 3.0 with Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, and IE 10 baselines Now in beta

SCM is a free tool from the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team that enables you to quickly configure and manage your computers whether their located on desks, in traditional datacenter, or in a private cloud using Group Policy and Microsoft® System Center Configuration Manager. To learn more about the current version of Security Compliance Manager, SCM 2.5, visit the TechNet Library More info about SCM get it here.

 

Secure your environment with new product baselines for Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, and Windows Internet Explorer 10. The beta release of Security Compliance Manager (SCM) 3.0 provides all the same great features for these new baselines, as well as an enhanced setting library for these new Microsoft products. This beta release includes fixes that resolve many previously reported issues in the setting library. The updated setting library also gives you the ability to further customize baselines. SCM 3.0 provides a single location for you to create, manage, analyze, and customize baselines to secure your environment faster and more efficiently.

As part of a select group of our key customers, we invite you to participate in the Beta Review Program of these new product baselines that include security enhancements for the following server roles and features:

Windows Server 2012 Security Baselines:

  • Domain Controller Security Compliance
  • Domain Security Compliance
  • Hyper-V Security Compliance
  • Member Server Security Compliance
  • Web Server Security Compliance

Windows 8 Security Baselines:

  • BitLocker Security
  • Computer Security Compliance
  • Domain Security Compliance

User Security Compliance:

  • Internet Explorer 10 Security Baselines:
  • Computer Security Compliance
  • User Security Compliance

What is not available in this beta release

The ability to export compliance data using formats that work with the DCM feature in Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager and the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP) is temporarily blocked in the new baselines for Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, and Internet Explorer 10. This functionality will be enabled in the next beta release update.

This beta release includes five baselines for Windows Server 2012. The following additional server role baselines will be included in the next beta release update:

  • Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS)
  • DNS Server
  • DHCP Server
  • File Services
  • Network Policy and Access Servers
  • Print Services
  • Remote Access
  • Remote Desktop Services

If you perform a clean installation of SCM 3.0 Beta on a computer running either Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012 that does not also have Microsoft SQL Server software installed on it, you may receive the following compatibility warning message.

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A setting named Configure Windows SmartScreen in the Windows 8 Computer Security baseline may not be set in the registry correctly after its Group Policy Object (GPO) is applied. This is a known issue in this beta release that will be fixed in the final commercial release of SCM. The workaround to resolve this issue is to disable or not configure this setting in the baseline before exporting the GPO.

If you export the Windows 8 Computer Security Compliance baseline into a GPO, import the GPO into SCM 3.0 Beta, and then export it to a computer running a Windows operating system earlier than Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, an application exception message may appear. This is a known issue in this beta release that will be fixed in the final commercial release of SCM. The workaround to resolve this issue is to disable the setting named Configure Windows SmartScreen before clicking GPO Backup (folder) in the Export area of the Action pane in SCM 3.0 Beta.

Posted September 15, 2012 by Robert Smit in Security Compliance Manager

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Security Compliance Manager 2.5 Beta

The Microsoft Security Compliance Manager (SCM) tool—version 2.5—is now available for beta download

NEW baselines include:
•Exchange Server 2007 SP3 Security Baseline
•Exchange Server 2010 SP2 Security Baseline

Updated client product baselines include:
•Windows 7 SP1 Security Compliance Baseline
•Windows Vista SP2 Security Compliance Baseline
•Windows XP SP3 Security Compliance Baseline
•Office 2010 SP1 Security Baseline
•Internet Explorer 8 Security Compliance Baseline

SCM 2.5 enables you to quickly configure and manage your desktops and laptops, traditional data center, and private cloud using Group Policy and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager.

Configure and manage your computers, traditional data center and private cloud with new and updated baseline configurations available with SCM 2.5 Beta. In addition to key features from the previous version, SCM 2.5 offers new Exchange Server 2010 and 2007 security baselines. Updated SCM2 client product baselines are included in the Beta download as well. Beta client product baselines include Windows 7 SP1, Windows Vista SP2, Windows XP SP3, Microsoft Office 2010 SP1, and Internet Explorer 8.

KeyFeatures in SCM 2.5 include:

  • Integration with the System Center 2012 IT GRC Process Pack for Service Manager-Beta:Product baseline configurations are integrated into the IT GRC Process Pack to provide oversight and reporting of your compliance activities.
  • Gold master support: Import and take advantage of your existing Group Policy or create a snapshot of a reference machine to kick-start your project.
  • Configure stand-alone machines: Deploy your configurations to non-domain joined computers using the new GPO Pack feature.
  • Updated security guidance: Take advantage of the deep security expertise and best practices in the updated security guides, and the attack surface reference workbooks to help reduce the security risks that you consider to be the most important.
  • Compare against industry best practices: Analyze your configurations against prebuilt baselines for the latest Windows client and server operating systems.

SCM2 tool released in September 2011 with a full complement of Microsoft product baselines, including Windows Internet Explorer 9, Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows Server 2008 SP2, and Windows Server 2003 SP2. As well as new features such as GPO import, baseline setting customization, Local GPO functionality, enhanced UI and improved installation with SQL Server 2005 and later releases of SQL Server.

To learn more about the Security Compliance Manager tool, visit the TechNet Library page  Microsoft.com .

Next Steps

Microsoft Security Compliance Manager (SCM 2) tool

Secure Client Computers with updated SCM 2 Client Baselines—Beta now available for download

Available beta baselines are:

  • Windows 7 SP1 Security Compliance Baseline
  • Windows Vista SP2 Security Compliance Baseline
  • Windows XP SP3 Security Compliance Baseline
  • Office 2010 SP1 Security Baseline
  • Internet Explorer 8 Security Compliance Baseline

SCM 2 enables you to quickly configure and manage your desktops and laptops, traditional data center, and private cloud using Group Policy and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager.

SCM 2 is a free tool from the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team that enables you to quickly configure and manage your computers, traditional data center, and private cloud using Group Policy and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager.

Key features in SCM 2 include:

  • Integration with the System Center 2012 IT GRC Process Pack for Service Manager-Beta:Product configurations are integrated into the IT GRC Process Pack to provide oversight and reporting of your compliance activities.

  • Gold master support: Import andtake advantage of your existing Group Policy or create a snapshot of a reference machine to kick-start your project.

  • Configure stand-alone machines: Deploy your configurations to non-domain joined computers using the new GPO Pack feature.

  • Updated security guidance: Take advantage of the deep security expertise and best practices in the updated security guides, and the attack surface reference workbooks to help reduce the security risks that you consider to be the most important.

  • Compare against industry best practices: Analyze your configurations against prebuilt baselines for the latest Windows client and server operating systems.

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SCM 2 released with the a full complement of Microsoft product baselines, including Windows Internet Explorer 9, Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows Server 2008 SP2, and Windows Server 2003 SP2.

Also the security guides are also in the download.

 

Get SCM2 from the Microsoft Download Center. Click here to download the latest version of the tool.

Security and Compliance Baselines

In addition to the previously released security baselines, the SCM 2 includes a new Windows Internet Explorer 9 Security Baseline, and updated versions of the security and compliance baselines for Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2008 SP2, and Windows Server 2003 SP2.

These new beta baselines provide:

  • Setting severity ratings, allowing you to quickly sort, prioritize, and apply Microsoft security recommendations.
  • Consolidated product baselines that eliminate EC and SSLF baseline components, and make viewing, customizing, and implementing your security baselines easier than ever!
  • New compliance-based settings groups allow quicker and easier compliance reporting and audit preparation, when used with theGRC management solution within System Center.
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