The security templates in C:\Windows\Security\Templates\ are a priceless resource when you're wondering how secure your computer really is.  You can use these templates as a baseline for the security settings on your server or workstation.  This post is a brief rundown of how to use the templates in conjuction with the Security Configuration and Analysis Snap-In

What you want to do is open up the mmc and add the Security Configuration and Analysis Snap-in. From there follow the instructions in the right-hand pane of the window to create a new database. Here are the directions just in case they are not visible on a Windows 2000 box:

1) Right-click the Security Configuration and Analysis scope item

2) Click Open Database

3) Type a new database name, and then click Open

4) Select a security template to import, and then click Open (They are normally in C:\windows\security\templates\)

After you've done that right click the Security Configuration and Analysis scope item again and click "Analyze Computer Now". The tool will then inventory the security settings on your computer and compare them with the security settings in the template. Items which do not match are shown with an "X" icon, items which do match are shown with a green checkmark icon and if an item was not analyzed it will be shown with a black "?". Go ahead and look into the items with ?'s and X's. If you can make the policy more restrictive without losing any functionality do so. Feel free to e-mail me (abaran[@]geekdojo.net) if you have any questions.

Some links for more information: