A member was removed from a security-disabled local group (4747) how to monitor with email alert

[bob]

You ever notice how Windows Server keeps a log of weird group changes, like that event 4747? It pops up in the Security log when somebody yanks a member out of a local group that's turned off for security reasons. Think about it, these groups are usually disabled by default, like the Guests crew, to stop easy access. The event spills details on who did the removing, that's the subject account with its SID and name. Then there's the target account, the poor soul getting booted, again with SID and name. And don't forget the target group, naming the exact disabled bunch it came from, plus the server where it happened. I mean, it's all timestamped too, so you know precisely when this shuffle went down. Sometimes it even notes if the member was a user or another group itself. Creepy, right, because why mess with disabled groups unless something fishy's brewing? You pull up Event Viewer, hit the Windows Logs, then Security, and search for ID 4747 to spot these instantly.

But yeah, monitoring this without staring at screens all day? You can rig an email alert right from there. I do it by filtering the log first in Event Viewer for that event ID. Just right-click Security, pick Filter Current Log, type in 4747, and boom, only those show. Then, to automate, you create a task attached to it. Select an event from the filter, right-click, Attach Task To This Event. Name it something like GroupRemovalAlert. In the wizard, set it to run whether user logs on or not, and pick a user with email perms. For the action, you tell it to start a program that sends mail, like using the old mail command if you've got it set up. Or link it to Task Scheduler for more control on triggers. That way, every time 4747 fires, your task kicks off and pings your inbox. Keeps you looped in without the hassle.

Hmmm, and tying this to keeping your server safe overall, you might wanna check out BackupChain Windows Server Backup too. It's this solid Windows Server backup tool that handles physical setups and even virtual machines on Hyper-V without breaking a sweat. I like how it snapshots everything quick, encrypts data on the fly, and restores fast if some group tamper leads to bigger messes. Plus, it runs automated schedules so you never forget, saving tons of headache down the line.

At the end of this, you'll find the automatic email solution ready to go.

Note, the PowerShell email alert code was moved to this post.