Before and After Values for Every AD Change with Active Directory Reporting Tool from Netwrix

In most cases, native auditing capabilities in Active Directory are not sufficient to satisfy the requirements of internal security policies and external regulations. Without a third-party Active Directory reporting tool, fully capturing and documenting an Active Directory change often requires system administrators to access multiple sources for associated details, which then must be compiled into an AD report to be analyzed further.

One particular challenge with native auditing is the lack of previous and current values for each modified AD object. Prior to Windows Server 2008, these details are not logged at all. Windows Server 2008 and 2012 log this data in some cases, but specific skills are needed to collect and make use of it. Moreover, before and after values are still missing for some modifications, which makes them unavailable in AD reports generated by third-party Active Directory reporting tools that rely solely on event logs.

Netwrix Auditor for Active Directory is a software solution that enables easy reporting on Active Directory and Group Policy changes by providing all critical details about every modification, including not only who, what, when and where details, but also the previous and current values for every modified AD object and setting.

Far superior to built-in auditing capabilities and other third-party Active Directory reporting tools, Netwrix Auditor ensures that all important details about each change are gathered. It collects and aggregates audit data from multiple sources, including native logs, configuration snapshots, change history records and more, and stores the data securely and efficiently. Additionally, the product simplifies generating a report on Active Directory changes for management by automatically translating cryptic log data into human-readable format.

For example, if group membership is modified, the Netwrix Active Directory reporting tool will show which members were removed or added. Similarly, if a password policy is modified, the product will report on exactly which settings were changed and how, along with their previous and new values.

Interactive Search feature from Netwrix Auditor: Who, Object type, Action, What, Where and Where

As a result, the information delivered by the Netwrix Active Directory reporting tool is actionable and easily available for security investigations, root cause analysis and troubleshooting. Gone are the time-consuming and error-prone processes of manual scripting and data consolidation. Anything less than the level of detail provided by the reports on Active Directory and Group Policy changes in Netwrix Auditor increases the risk of a data breach, compliance violations and overall instability of enterprise systems.