Windows Server Optimization: Active Directory Auditing – Track User Logons

Tracking user logons gives system administrators an opportunity to identify active and inactive accounts and global access rights that could put the organization information at risk.

Active Directory auditing involves the collection of data on all Active Directory Objects and attributes that are helpful in analyzing and reporting the overall health of the Active Directory.

Audits are performed to secure the Active Directory from attacks and to keep the IT operations running. Tracking User Logons is needed to help in the following operations:

1. Track the logon activity on Domain Controllers.
2. Track user logon activities (logon failures, recent logons, last logon on workstations).
3. Track logon activities on Member Servers and Workstations.
4. Monitor RADIUS logon on computers.

In a busy working environment, Active Directory Auditing helps verify the number of users accessing the Active Directory at any given time, identify remote logon users, determine the peak logon sessions, monitor all critical logons, act on unauthorized attempts and access, and generate backup reports in case of any queries or investigations.

Why Using the Native Active Directory Auditing is Insufficient

1. The day-to-day logon information collected in the server logs may not be friendly to non-technical staff.
2. The logon information requires expertise to understand the specific events correlating to every logon activity.
3. The amount of data collected is voluminous due to the continuous activities on the Domain Controller. Dealing with such huge amount of data is tedious and time consuming.
4. The restrictive nature of the Domain Controllers means access to its logos are limited to specific personnel.
5. The inability of other Non-Administrative staff outside the IT department to access real time logon data also makes the Native Active Directory Auditing out of reach for managers, auditors, human resource staff, etc.

The Solution to Native Active Directory Auditing

The only possible way of tracking real time logon activities on a large scale for auditing is to use a software like Manage Engine ADAudit Plus that details all logon information into a single document that can be shared from a central server console.

The ADAudit Plus tool gives all information relating to successful and failed logon attempts.

Active Directory Logon Auditing

Real time auditing means tracking every logon activity as it happens to the entire Active Directory. The outcome of this audit is listing all logon activities that can be viewed on the central server in an instant.

The logon report contains information on failed logons, Domain Controller logon information, Member Server logon information, Workstation logon, recent and last logon activities.

Active Directory Logon Auditing also helps in reporting on specific logon events by listing all Logon related actions. All this information is presented on a web interface displaying data in statistical format via charts, lists, and graphs. Due to the insufficient nature of Active Directory, using the ADAudit Plus relays more information some of which are explained below:

Logon Activities on Domain Controllers
Domain Controllers from the critical element in Active Directory because all changes taking place in the Active Directory takes place here. Such logons are restricted to network administrators or privileged users. Any attempts by other users should be a wake up call for administrators to take corrective action.

ADAudit Plus give details such as user’s location, time of logon, success or failed logon attempts, and the reason for failure if any.

Tracker User Logon Activities (logon failures, recent logons, last logon on workstations)
Logon failure report gives information on reasons why a failure occurred and the number of failed attempts reported for a particular user. This information could be useful for system administrators on possible external attacks.

Some common reasons for logon attempts could be related to bad name or wrong password. Other reasons such as errors due to time restrictions, replication delays, and different workstation OS version can also be reported.

Reports on user logon give all the information needed for auditing the entire logon history on the server and the clients end. This information is only accessible to specific domain users. User’s logon history is used to draw a logon pattern and used to show system auditors proof of activities on the network.

Recent activities are used by administrators to ascertain whether every past logon was used as intended. An analysis of past logon can be used to measure levels of irregularities. ADAudit Plus gives details of both successful and failed logons alongside reasons for unsuccessful attempts. The unsuccessful logs are used for planning any corrective measures.

The last logon on workstations has all the information on the time of last successful logon attempts. The report of this audit can be used to show absenteeism or availability of a user.

Track Logon Activities on Member Servers and Workstations
Tracking logon activities on member servers and workstations help administrators tracks the logon activities of users with authority to access selected servers and workstations. The type of information displayed here are times of access, location of the user, including the workstation details, successful or failed logins, and the reason behind the logon failure.

Monitor RADIUS Logon on Computers
Users accessing the Domain server from a remote location need to use the Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service (RADIUS). Getting reports on remote users in the form of logon failures, authentication through the Active Directory and logon history. Only RADIUS logon activities running through Network Policy Servers can be reported.

Conclusion

Since the aim of any server optimization is to speed up operations and in the case of logon auditing, speed up reporting. Native Active Directory Auditing may give comprehensive information, but is weighed down by the reporting time.

System administrators should take advantage of Active Directory auditing tools such as ADAudit Plus to help in carrying Active Directory audit. An Active Directory Reporting tool should be able to filter out information by marking out WHEN a change in the Active Directory was made, WHERE the change took place, WHAT is the nature of the change, and WHO is responsible for the change.

All these identifiers in a report are to facilitate easier understanding when reviewing the summarized information.

 

 

 

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