RE: [logs] Windows Event Log Analysis

From: Buck Buchanan (lbuchanaat_private)
Date: Fri Jan 03 2003 - 14:34:44 PST

  • Next message: marc: "Re: [logs] Syslog payload format"

    Hi,
    
    I have both systems configured so that the event logger logs everything
    that is sent to it.  Both systems have the logs set to overwrite.  The NT
    security log is 4 Megabytes and is currently holding almost 8 months of log
    entries.  The 2K system security log is 10Megabytes and normally holds
    about 2 1/2 months of log entries, but right now it has about a week.
    
    The NT has my companies default install, which includes Novell, and I have
    not made significant changes to it.  The Windows 2K system I installed and
    proceeded to shut off almost ever service known to Microsoft.  The only
    open TCP port on the system is the UNIX line printer port, 515.  The only
    open UDP ports are those opened by the anti-virus software.  All of the
    above ports are blocked by the W2K IPSEC packet filter.
    
    The 2K is an IBM NetVista 800MHz Pentium III with about 180 out of 256
    Megabytes of RAM in use, but I don't know what the memory usage was when
    Word was indexing forever.  The NT has 144 Megabytes of RAM, and right now
    about half is in use.  The system is a 200 MHz Pentium Compaq Deskpro.
    Just checked arp and it again failed to log the process termination.
    Looking back through the event log, I find several instances between May 31
    and Dec 23 where arp logged termination correctly.  Starting on Dec 31 it
    failed to log termination of arp commands.  I did find that I have a much
    more frequent event showing a process being created, but with no
    corresponding termination event being logged.
    
    I normally use a Cygwin bash shell to run command line programs.  It
    creates a subshell which then executes the command line.  The creation of
    this subshell creates a new process event message.  This is then followed
    by the execution of the command and the new process event message for that
    command.  When that command completes, there is usually a process
    termination event message logged.  What is not logged is the termination of
    the subshell.  This is the same on NT and 2K.  In UNIX the subshell and
    executed command would have the same process ID, but in Windows they each
    get their own process ID.  Monitoring a command with Filemon from
    Winternals shows that the subshell has filesystem activity after the
    execution of the command.  Strace for NT also shows the command starting
    before the subshell terminates.  The one curiosity I noticed in the trace
    was when the subshell exits, its exit status is 131072 (0x10000).  All
    other programs I have previously traced have had single digit return
    values.  Adding "exit(131072);" to a "Hello World" program resulted in a
    exit status of 12 and the process termination was logged.
    
    Thinking that possibly the problem may be in the bash shell, I tried
    running "arp -a" from a DOS command window.  It logs the process creation,
    but not the termination.
    
    Rebooting the NT has "fixed" arp, but rasusers and the bash subshell still
    are not logging process termination.
    
    Looking back through the commands that had been started on the system
    between Dec 23 and Dec 31 was not productive.
    
    As usual, I find a new quirk in Microsoft's operating systems and it leads
    me to whole new set of questions with no easy answers.
    
    TGIF & B Cing U
    
    Buck
    
    
    
    _______________________________________________
    LogAnalysis mailing list
    LogAnalysisat_private
    http://lists.shmoo.com/mailman/listinfo/loganalysis
    



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Jan 03 2003 - 18:48:42 PST