18.8.47.5.1 Ensure 'Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool: Turn on MSDT interactive communication with support provider' is set to 'Disabled'

Warning! Audit Deprecated

This audit has been deprecated and will be removed in a future update.

View Next Audit Version

Information

This policy setting configures Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) interactive communication with the support provider. MSDT gathers diagnostic data for analysis by support professionals.

The recommended state for this setting is: Disabled.

Rationale:

Due to privacy concerns, data should never be sent to any 3rd party since this data could contain sensitive information.

Solution

To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to Disabled:

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\System\Troubleshooting and Diagnostics\Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool\Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool: Turn on MSDT interactive communication with support provider

Note: This Group Policy path may not exist by default. It is provided by the Group Policy template MSDT.admx/adml that is included with the Microsoft Windows 8.0 & Server 2012 (non-R2) Administrative Templates (or newer).

Impact:

MSDT cannot run in support mode, and no data can be collected or sent to the support provider.

Default Value:

Enabled. (Users can use MSDT to collect and send diagnostic data to a support professional to resolve a problem. By default, the support provider is set to Microsoft Corporation.)

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/2750