Local Security Policy

Microsoft has provided a central interface for managing many of the security and auditing features of Windows. Settings that required Registry access in Windows NT can be managed through an informational GUI in Windows 2000. To start up the Local Security Policy interface, select Start, Run and type secpol.msc in the Run box. You can also launch it by selecting Start, Programs, Administrative Tools, Local Security Policy. From this GUI, you control the password policies for your computer, as well as the auditing policies. A section on Security Options also exists (see Figure 10.32). These settings can be tuned to significantly increase security on your computer; however, they do require an advanced understanding to manipulate.