New beta setting packs for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8

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The Solution Accelerators team is happy to announce the most recent additions to the Security Compliance Manager Baseline Beta Review Program: new setting packs for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8.

Join the Security Compliance Manager Baseline Beta Review Program.

Members, bookmark this link to get the latest project details.

These setting packs, which can be used in combination with the Security Compliance Manager tool, will enable you to define baselines that include settings outside the scope of the security baselines from Microsoft. Use these new resources to define customer baselines, meet business-critical needs, and elevate the security of Windows® 7 and Windows® Internet Explorer® 8.

  • The Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8 setting packs will be available for beta review through October 15, 2010.
  • The Microsoft Office 2010 Security Baseline is still available; this resource will be available for beta download through October 5, 2010.

Setting packs

Since the release of the Security Compliance Manager (SCM) tool, one of the most frequent requests has been for the ability to add all of the available Group Policy settings to the Microsoft security baselines so that you can access them in the SCM tool. While our baselines include hundreds of settings, there are hundreds of additional settings available in Group Policy. In response to this request, we have created setting packs. Each baseline setting pack includes the basic information required by the SCM tool to define custom baselines that you can use to create GPO backups, DCM configuration packs, and SCAP content. This is a temporary solution to address this request. A future version of the SCM tool will provide the capability to add the settings customers need to their baseline without the setting pack.

Why are setting packs important?

The settings packs enable you to define baselines that include settings outside the scope of the security baselines from Microsoft. There are some environments in which demand for these settings may apply. For example, federal agencies in the United States are required to follow compliance mandates known as the Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC) and the United States Government Configuration Baseline (USGCB). The settings required by these mandates include several dozen that are not part of the security baselines from Microsoft for Windows® XP, Windows® Vista, and Windows 7. Now systems administrators can use the settings pack to define all of their required settings within the SCM tool, and then generate GPO backups to apply these additional settings to computers across their organizations.

Security Compliance Manager

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

§ To download the tool, click here.

§ To download the Security Compliance Manager Getting Started Guide, click here.

Tell us what you think! We hope you’lltake the time to influence the development of the resources in this new beta program. Please send constructive feedback to the security team: secwish@microsoft.com.