Event viewer logs in windows server 2003

This brings us to the subject of Security-log integrity. The Security log is fairly secure. To erase events or otherwise tamper with the Security log or audit policy, you need physical access to the target system, administrator authority to that system, or Write access to a GPO applied to the system. Larger IT departments should implement separation of duty between operations and security-monitoring staff. Security-monitoring staff then can monitor the security activity reported by the servers and review the activity of operations staff, as needed.

Pick the edition that's right for you! Each Windows system on your network has nine audit policies Windows NT has only seven , which can be enabled or disabled: Audit account logon events Audit account management Audit directory service access Audit logon events Audit object access Audit policy change Audit privilege use Audit process tracking Audit system events An event in the Windows Security log is either type Success or type Failure.

Audit Account Logon Events Microsoft should have named the Audit account logon events policy Audit authentication events. Audit Logon Events The Audit logon events policy records all attempts to log on to the local computer, whether by using a domain account or a local account. Audit Account Management Events The Audit account management events policy, which you can use to monitor changes to user accounts and groups, is valuable for auditing the activity of administrators and Help desk staff.

Audit Privilege Use The Audit privilege use policy tracks the exercise of user rights. Audit Process Tracking The Audit process tracking policy tracks each program that is executed, either by the system or by end users. Audit system events The Audit system events policy logs several miscellaneous security events.

Event Viewer The preceding 9 audit policies allow you to fire up the Windows auditing function. Figure Filter criteria The only other useful analysis feature in Event Viewer is the Find option.

Figure Searching the security log Aside from using Event Viewer to view security events, you use it to configure the maximum size of the Security log. Figure Security log properties You can use Event Viewer to dump the Security log to a file, either in the process of clearing the log or independently. Upcoming Webinars. Additional Resources.

Follow randyfsmith. All rights reserved. Disclaimer: We do our best to provide quality information and expert commentary but use all information at your own risk. For complaints, please contact abuse ultimatewindowssecurity. Terms of Use Privacy Return Policy. Security Log Categories. Audit account logon events. Account Logon. Audit account management. Account Management.

Audit directory service access. Directory Service Access. Audit logon events. Audit object access. Object Access. Audit policy change. Policy Change. Audit privilege use. Privilege Use. Audit process tracking. Process Tracking. Audit system events. System Events. You can tell roughly when the logs were deleted by determining the earliest entry in the newest logs.

You all but certainly won't be able to tell who deleted them, though. A user did some malicious modifications on a windows server and deleted the eventviewer logs, he modified some files, how can I find out who? Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. I couldn't find anything It feels like the logs have been overwritten since the maximum log size is 10 MB — Amine Zaine. Then they may have destroyed them at the file level. If the user can delete logs and system files, you can't possibly log him using that system Unfortunately, I don't.

But thanks for your answer, I hope it could help someone else : — Amine Zaine. Burgi Burgi 12 12 bronze badges. Thanks for the hint of the event ID This guy is a pro. This isn't accurate for Windows Thought so. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook. Event Viewer displays items logged by the system when actions happen within a Windows Server system.

Application: Shows events recorded by applications that are installed on the system. System: Shows Windows system events. To clear a log of all the events ——————————— In the left pane of the Computer Management Console, right-click the event log you want to clear and select Clear Log. Windows Server will ask you if you want to save the contents of the file before clearing it. Click Yes and then choose a location to save the contents of the log.

Click Save. This will back up the contents of that log and clear it. How to change the size of a log ——————————- Right-click the log file object for which you wish to adjust the size and select Properties. Maintaining log files automatically ———————————— When the log files are created, they are assigned a default size of KB. This size is usually easy to manage; however, if the system is accessed frequently and processes many logons, the Security log may become full more often than you like.

If this happens, the PC will prevent logons by anyone who is not a member of the administrators group This is not an issue on a server system. When the maximum log size is reached,Available options are Overwrite events as needed overwrite the oldest events first Overwrite events older than xx days Do not overwrite events clear logs manually.

Archiving the Event Logs ———————— Logs can be archived in three formats:. Tab-delimited text format, for access in text editors or word processors or import into spreadsheets and databases. You should now see a list of event logs. Right-click the event log you want to archive and select Save Log File As from the shortcut menu.