Types of Windows event logs

Windows event logs are essential for diagnosing and troubleshooting system issues, offering valuable insights into the operational health of Windows systems. These logs are organized into categories based on event type and severity, making it easier to search and analyze them using the Windows Event Viewer, a built-in tool. The types of event logs include application, security, system, setup, and forwarded logs, each containing event IDs that pinpoint specific events and issues.

In this page, we will break down the different types of Windows event logs, their significance, and guidance on when to monitor them. Additionally, we'll explore how these logs work together to enable effective monitoring and highlight how ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer simplifies log analysis for better system management.

What are application logs?

An application log records events happening on a software application. They include information on the application's availability, errors, user access, and changes to the application. These logs, as categorized by Windows, are crucial to troubleshoot issues specific to an application, analyze security incidents, and track user behaviors.

Application logs can further be categorized into:

• Access logs: Records all user interactions with a specific application. These logs provide information on the users who accessed application resources such as files or databases.
• Authentication logs: Records each attempt a user makes to login to the specific application.
• Authorization logs: Records the actions each user is permitted to perform within the application. For instance, a user is attempting to modify a record in the database, which they don't have permission to do. The authorization logs capture this and provide a detailed user audit trail.
Note:

Access, authentication, and authorization logs are crucial sources of user audit trails and they are useful to investigate user behaviors and unauthorized access to applications.

• Change logs: Captures any changes made to the application, including adding a new user to the role-based access controls, changes to permissions, and settings. Configuration changes of the application are commonly logged here.
• Error logs: Captures any exceptions or errors occurring in the application. Error logs often provide details into application hangs, crashes, configuration errors, disk space warnings, and more. These are crucial for effective troubleshooting and optimizing application performance.

What are security logs?

Security logs in Windows are detailed records of security-related events happening within the system. It records user authentication attempts, user activities, changes to user account properties, and access control violations. In simpler terms, events such as failed login attempts or changes to user privileges are logged here. Monitoring this log type helps in detecting and investigating security breaches or unauthorized access attempts.

Components of Windows security log entry

• Timestamp: Exact date and time of the event occurrence.
• Event ID: Unique identifier number for the event. For instance, every successful logon to the system is denoted by event ID 4624, and every logon failure is identified by event ID 4625.
• Event source: The system or application that generated the event.
• Event category: Categorization of the event, such as authentication, authorization, and system security.
• Event level: Severity of the event, such as information, warning, or error.
• User account: The user involved in the event.
• Computer: The device or computer on which the event occurred.
• Source IP address: The IP address of the source of the event.
• Destination IP address: The IP address of the target of the event.
• Event description: Brief overview of the event.

Some of the key security events in Windows and their corresponding security logs are as follows.

When to monitor

It is essential to regularly monitor security logs to detect potential breaches and anomalies at the early stage of an attack. Often regulatory compliance also mandates enterprises to do routine user audit trails and store the security logs for longer periods to facilitate forensic analysis.

What are setup logs?

The setup log contains events related to system setup and configuration changes. It logs actions performed during the installation or removal of software, device drivers, or system components. This includes information about software installations, updates, and system configuration changes. Monitoring setup logs assist in tracking changes made to the system's configuration over time.

Key components of setup logs

Setup logs typically contain several important elements:

• Timestamps: Indicating when specific actions occurred during the setup process.
• Event descriptions: Detailed accounts of each action taken, including successes and failures.
• Error codes: If an error occurs, the log will often include a specific error code that can be referenced for further investigation.
• Component information: Details about the components being installed or configured.

Types of setup logs

In Windows, there are several key setup log files:

• setupact.log: This log contains information about actions taken during the setup process. It is crucial for diagnosing issues that arise during installation.
• setuperr.log: This log records errors encountered during the setup process, providing a direct reference for troubleshooting.
• miglog.xml: This file documents what data was migrated during installation, useful for identifying migration-related issues.
• Setup.etl: This log captures performance events related to Windows Setup and can be reviewed using the Event Viewer.

Related event IDs

• Event ID 1001: Installation success

  This indicates that an installation was completed successfully.

• Event ID 1002: Installation failure

  This is logged when an installation fails, providing error codes for troubleshooting.

• Event ID 2000: Active Directory installation event

  This records events related to Active Directory setup on domain controllers.

When to monitor

Monitor setup logs during software installations, system configurations, and hardware setups to track the success or failure of the process, identify misconfigurations, and troubleshoot issues. It is crucial to monitor them immediately after deploying new applications, updating systems, or making changes to the environment. Log management tools like EventLog Analyzer help by providing detailed reports and real-time alerts, ensuring smooth setups and quick resolution of issues.

What are system logs?

Windows system logs are critical components of computer systems that record various events and activities related to the operating system. They serve as a comprehensive record of significant occurrences that can aid in diagnosing issues, monitoring system performance, and ensuring security compliance. Below is a detailed overview of system logs.

Definition and purpose

A system log captures operating system events, which can include:

• Startup messages: Indicating when the system is booting up.
• Errors and warnings: Documenting issues that may affect system performance or stability.
• Unexpected shutdowns: Recording instances where the system fails to operate normally.
• System changes: Noting modifications made to system settings or configurations.

Types of events recorded

Windows system logs typically include a variety of event types:

• Informational events: General notifications about system operations.
• Error events: Indicating problems that have occurred, such as hardware failures or software crashes.
• Warning events: Alerts about potential issues that could lead to errors if not addressed.

By analyzing these logs, administrators can gain insights into both current system performance and historical trends, which can inform future maintenance and upgrades.

Related event IDs

• Event ID 41: Kernel-power

  This indicates that the system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first, often due to power loss or hardware failure.

• Event ID 6008: Unexpected shutdown

  This is logged when a system shuts down unexpectedly.

• Event ID 7000: Service Control Manager error

  This event log indicates that a service has failed to start during boot.

When to monitor

Monitor system logs during critical events like updates, configuration changes, high-traffic scenarios, and incidents to ensure system health, detect threats, diagnose issues, and support compliance. Tools like EventLog Analyzer provide real-time alerts and reports to streamline the monitoring and analysis of Windows event logs.

What are forwarded logs?

Forwarded logs are event logs collected from remote systems and centralized for analysis. These logs are especially useful in environments with multiple devices, providing a consolidated view of events across the network. For example, logs from servers, workstations, and network devices can be forwarded to a central system for correlation and monitoring.

Related event IDs

Event ID 1100: This is logged when the event log service shuts down on the forwarding system.

Event ID 2004: This log indicates successful forwarding of logs to the collector.

Event ID 3006: This log reports failures in forwarding events, which may impact centralized monitoring.

When to monitor

Monitor forwarded logs during system audits, troubleshooting distributed environments, and investigating security incidents to centralize insights from multiple sources, detect anomalies, and ensure data integrity.

In addition to the above mentioned log types, there are other log types that provide deeper insights into specific operations. Listed below are some of those log types:

• Crash logs: Record details of application or system crashes, including error codes and failure points, aiding in diagnosing and resolving issues.
• Update logs: Capture the status and details of system or application updates, helping identify and resolve issues with the update process.
• Error logs: Document application or system errors, providing insights into failures for troubleshooting and maintaining stability.
• Firewall logs: Track incoming and outgoing network traffic, highlighting blocked connections and potential intrusion attempts to ensure network security.
• System logs: Record system-level events such as hardware changes, service status updates, and resource usage for monitoring overall system health.
• Defender logs: Log malware detections, scans, and actions taken by Windows Defender to monitor and enhance system security.

These logs offer granular visibility into the operations, security, and performance of connected devices and cloud infrastructures, making them essential components of comprehensive log management.

How do different event logs work together for effective monitoring?

Windows event logs are vital for gaining visibility into an organization's IT environment. Individually, logs like system logs, security logs, application logs, and others provide crucial insights. However, their true potential is realized when they work together. Let's see how.

While each log type provides specific insights, combining them offers a holistic view of your IT ecosystem. For instance:

• Correlating security logs with system logs can highlight attempts to exploit vulnerabilities on a specific server.
• Network logs analyzed alongside application logs can help trace the source of unusual traffic affecting application performance.
• Audit logs paired with security logs can uncover malicious activity by insiders or unauthorized configuration changes.

How can EventLog Analyzer be leveraged for effective log monitoring?

ManageEngine EventLog Analyzer is a robust log management and IT compliance tool that centralizes and aggregates logs from various sources to provide effective monitoring, enabling organizations to detect threats and anomalies in real time through advanced event correlation. It offers detailed, compliance-ready reports for key log categories and displays data from multiple sources on a single, intuitive dashboard for better visibility.

With keyword-based search and instant alerts, it facilitates faster root cause analysis and operational efficiency. EventLog Analyzer also simplifies compliance with prebuilt reports for over 20 compliance mandates, helping organizations meet regulatory requirements effortlessly. By harnessing the collective power of Windows event logs, EventLog Analyzer empowers businesses with proactive threat detection, streamlined issue resolution, and a comprehensive view of their IT infrastructure.

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