Audit Logon

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2

This security policy setting determines whether the operating system generates audit events when a user attempts to log on to a computer. These events are related to the creation of logon sessions and occur on the computer that was accessed. For an interactive logon, events are generated on the computer that was logged on to. For network logon, such as accessing a share, events are generated on the computer hosting the resource that was accessed.

The following events are recorded:

• Logon success and failure.

• Logon attempts by using explicit credentials. This event is generated when a process attempts to log on an account by explicitly specifying that account's credentials. This most commonly occurs in batch-type configurations such as scheduled tasks, or when using the Runas command.

• Security identifiers (SIDs) are filtered.

Logon events are essential to tracking user activity and detecting potential attacks.

Event volume: Low on a client computer; medium on a domain controller or network server

Default: Success for client computers; success and failure for servers

If this policy setting is configured, the following events are generated. The events appear on computers running Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, or Windows Vista.