MBSA can scan the local computer and other computers on the network. Requirements vary depending on the nature of the scan. Table 5-3 lists and compares the requirements. In the table, the Local Scan Only column indicates that a scan of the local computer only will be performed. The To Remotely Scan column lists the requirements for a computer that will scan other computers on the network. The Remotely Scanned column provides the requirements for computers that will be remotely scanned.
How to Audit Patching Status Using MBSA
You can use MBSA as a graphical user interface (GUI)-based program that produces HTML reports to be viewed in the browser. In this case, each report represents the status of a single computer and is stored on the scanning computer. To obtain a more useful report, use the command-line version of MBSA, import the text file into a spreadsheet or database, and then produce reports. These reports will indicate which systems need to be patched and which patches are missing. An additional use of the reports is finding weaknesses in the design or implementation of your patching process. If, for example, no patches are being applied, the computer might not be properly pointing to a SUS server or some network issue might be preventing the computer from accessing the SUS server.
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