The importance of auditing Active Directory can be demonstrated by the fact that doing so will help maintain the security and integrity of the IT infrastructure in an organization. However, control via traditional native Windows tools is a difficult and time-consuming process. It becomes more complicated when the auditor has to deal with difficult-to-understand event details. Furthermore, each domain must be monitored separately, which increases the consumption of time and resources. In fact, there should be a solution to centralize auditing across all sectors and that too in a user-friendly manner. With these features and much more, LepideAvisor for Active Directory (LAAD) presents itself as the preferred solution for auditing AD. In this blog post, we will discuss how to check Active Directory objects using this tool. Important Features You can install the software on any domain or even in a workgroup computer and you are free to add multiple domains (same or same). different) available in your network. In addition to auditing, this Lepide product also periodically creates snapshots of object states, which can be used to restore AD objects to previous operating states. Adding a DomainThe first step is to add a domain in LepideAvisor for Active Directory. To add a domain, go to the "Settings" tab and click the "Domain Management" button in the left section. Click the "Add" button to add a domain to audit. The following dialog box will be displayed Figure: Add Domain Dialog Box Provide the necessary inputs such as domain name/domain IP address, username and password. You can also click the "Discover Domain" button to list all domains...in the middle of the sheet...ts.Creating an AlertRight-click on any report in the left panel and select "Set Alert " option. You must follow the wizard's on-screen instructions to create an alert. You can use the "Alerts" tab to manage the alerts you create and view delivery status reports. As soon as the software identifies the default condition in any of the created alerts, a short email summarizing the event will be immediately sent to the defined recipients. This will help administrators to deal with erroneous and critical situations without wasting much time. Conclusion LepideAvisor for Active Directory is, in fact, a great tool for auditing Active Directory objects in a much friendlier way than native tools. Following the above steps will help an auditor effectively audit an AD environment and help administrators keep an eye on their infrastructure.