Microsoft Office 2010 Security Baseline beta now available for download

UPDATE (NEW) - 11/11/2010:

The Security Solution Accelerators team recently announced the release of the new Office 2010 Security Baseline that can be used with the Security Compliance Manager tool!

New users can access the Office 2010 Security Baseline by visiting the Microsoft Download Center to download the Security Compliance Manager tool.

Existing users can access the Office 2010 Security Baseline in the tool by clicking the Tools menu, and then clicking Check for Baselines.

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The Solution Accelerators team recently announced the beta release of the Microsoft Office 2010 Security Baseline, the latest addition to the Security Compliance Manager Baseline Beta Review Program.

Join the Microsoft Office 2010 Security Baseline Beta Review Program. This baseline is available for beta review.

Note: You need to have a Windows Live ID and register with Microsoft Connect before being able to join the Microsoft Office 2010 Security Baseline Review Program, which is listed in the Microsoft Connect Product directory as Security Solution Accelerators for the product name. After you click "(apply)", the Microsoft Connect page, "Participate in the Security Compliance Manager Baseline Beta Review Program!", will appear. From this page you can then download the beta baseline for Office 2010.

The best-practice guidance and security settings provided by this new beta release allow you to plan and deploy your baselines from Microsoft with ease and confidence. The security baseline for Microsoft® Office 2010 provides you with free Microsoft-recommended solutions to meet today's security challenges. In combination with best-practice guidance and the Security Compliance Manager, the baseline is designed to help you plan, deploy, and monitor the security of Office 2010 applications. This beta release also includes a setting pack for Office 2010, enabling you to define baselines that include settings outside the scope of the security baselines from Microsoft.

The Microsoft Office 2010 Security Baseline is formatted to be imported for use in the Security Compliance Manager tool, which released in early 2010. This powerful tool provides guidance to work with other tools and features of Microsoft products to help you plan, deploy, and monitor your security baselines. The tool enables you to access and automate all of your organization’s baselines in one centralized location, balancing your needs for security and functionality.

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

To download the tool, click here.