Attack Surface Analyzer 2.0 – Free Microsoft Tool to Detect Changes in Operating Systems While Installing Apps

Microsoft released Attack Surface Analyzer 2.0 which helps to detect the changes made to the Windows operating system while installing third-party applications.

The tool helps to detect the changes made to an operating system’s security configurations, and also it plays a vital role in ensuring the developed software doesn’t make an adverse effect on the operating system.

“This year, we decided to rewrite the tool to take advantage of modern, cross-platform technologies like .NET Core and Electron.” The new version of Attack Surface Analyzer runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS; it helps to track the changes made in key areas.

Attack Surface Analyzer 1.0 publically announced in 2012, its core feature is to differentiate the operating system configuration before and after software installation.

Microsoft developed the Open source security tools and the tool “analyzes the attack surface of a target system and reports on potential security vulnerabilities introduced during the installation of software or system misconfiguration.”

It reports on the following operating system components.

  • File system (static snapshot and live monitoring available)
  • User accounts
  • Services
  • Network Ports (listeners)
  • Certificates
  • Registry (Windows only)

“Knowing what changes have been made is vital to maintaining the security of your system, data, and networks. Identifying those changes can be challenging and time-consuming without a little help,” reads the blog post.

The tool includes both a command-line interface and ElectronNET GUI option available; it is available on GitHub.

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Gurubaran

Gurubaran is a co-founder of Cyber Security News and GBHackers On Security. He has 10+ years of experience as a Security Consultant, Editor, and Analyst in cybersecurity, technology, and communications.

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