Article ID: 229694 - Last Review: July 7, 2008 - Revision: 6.1

How to iInstall and use the IIS Security "What if" tool

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This article was previously published under Q229694

We strongly recommend that all users upgrade to Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) version 7.0 running on Microsoft Windows Server 2008. IIS 7.0 significantly increases Web infrastructure security. For more information about IIS security-related topics, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/prodtech/IIS.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/prodtech/IIS.mspx)

For more information about IIS 7.0, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.iis.net/default.aspx?tabid=1 (http://www.iis.net/default.aspx?tabid=1)

SUMMARY

The purpose of this article is to explain how to install, use, and remove the IIS Security "What If" tool. The IIS Security "What If" tool is a Dynamic HTML (DHTML) utility that is designed to help in troubleshooting security issues with IIS.

Note This utility requires a DHTML-enabled browser and has been tested with Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4.0 and 5.0. Although the tool works with most DHTML-enabled browsers, Microsoft cannot guarantee compatibility with third-party Web browsers. Therefore, this article has been written specifically for use with Internet Explorer.

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Install the utility

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

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Download the Iisperms.exe package now. (http://download.microsoft.com/download/iis50/utility/2.0/nt5/en-us/iisperms.exe) For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/119591/ ) How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file. Note Microsoft Product Support Services does not support the installation or use of this tool. It is provided "as-is" to help IIS users.

Download Iisperms.exe and save it to your desktop.
After the download is complete, double-click the Iisperms.exe file on your desktop.
Specify a folder to extract the files to in the Unzip to Folder text box (for example, C:\Whatif).
Click Unzip to install the files to the specified folder.
Click OK after the files have been extracted, and then click Close

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Use the utility

Open My Computer, and then double-click the folder that you specified during the installation to locate the files.
Double-click the IISPermissions.htm file.

When the page opens in Internet Explorer, click to select the following options:

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Column	Description
Browser	The Web browser that a client uses to browse an IIS site.
Client OS	The operating system that the client Web browser is running on.
Scenario	Specifies wehther the client is browsing across the Internet or is located on an intranet with IIS.
Web Server	The IIS and operating system versions that are used on the server.
Web Auth Scheme	The type of authentication that is used in this deployment.

After you select these options, click Check. The graphics display is updated to show which computers and resources the client can reach based on the conditions that you specified.

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Remove the utility

Open My Computer, and then locate the folder that you specified during the installation.
Right-click the folder that you specified during installation, click Delete, and then click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the folder.

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