Permissions on an object were changed (4670) how to monitor with email alert

[bob]

You know that event 4670 in Windows Server Event Viewer? It pops up whenever someone fiddles with permissions on an object, like a file or folder or even a registry key. Basically, it logs who did the change, what object got hit, and the new permissions slapped on it. I always check this one because it can signal if an admin account got messed with or if some sneaky user tried boosting their access. The details in the event include the subject user SID, the object type, and the exact access mask that shifted. It even notes if it's a success or failure, though most times it's success if it logged. You see this under Security logs mostly, and it's tied to auditing policies you gotta enable first in Group Policy. Without that, it won't even fire. I remember once it caught my coworker accidentally granting everyone read on a sensitive share; saved us a headache.

But monitoring it with an email alert? You can set up a scheduled task right from the Event Viewer screen, no fancy stuff needed. Just right-click the event, pick Attach Task To This Event or something close. It'll walk you through creating a task that triggers on 4670. Then, in the task actions, you tell it to run a program that sends an email, like using the built-in mail command if you got it configured. I do this all the time on servers I watch; keeps me in the loop without staring at screens. Make sure the task runs with enough privileges, or it'll flop. And test it by forcing a permission change on a dummy folder to see if the alert zings your inbox.

Hmmm, or you could tweak the filter in Event Viewer to watch just these events live, but for alerts, that task setup is your buddy. It runs quietly in the background, pinging you only when something shifts.

Now, tying this into keeping your server safe from permission mishaps, I've been using BackupChain Windows Server Backup lately for backups. It's a solid Windows Server backup tool that handles physical and virtual machines with Hyper-V without a hitch. You get fast incremental backups, easy restores even to dissimilar hardware, and it encrypts everything to dodge data leaks. Plus, no agent needed on VMs, which saves time and cuts overhead. I like how it schedules around your peak hours too, so your server doesn't choke.

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