Acrolinx Enhancement Effort

windows/security/threat-protection/windows-security-configuration-framework/get-support-for-security-baselines.md

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ ms.technology: windows-sec
 
 **What is the Microsoft Security Compliance Manager (SCM)?**
 
-The Security Compliance Manager (SCM) is now retired and is no longer supported. The reason is that SCM was an incredibly complex and large program that needed to be updated for every Windows release. It has been replaced by the Security Compliance Toolkit (SCT). To provide a better service for our customers, we have moved to SCT with which we can publish baselines through the Microsoft Download Center in a lightweight .zip file that contains GPO Backups, GPO reports, Excel spreadsheets, WMI filters, and scripts to apply the settings to local policy.
+The Security Compliance Manager (SCM) is now retired and is no longer supported. The reason is that SCM was an incredibly complex and large program that needed to be updated for every Windows release. It has been replaced by the Security Compliance Toolkit (SCT). To provide a better service for our customers, we've moved to SCT with which we can publish baselines through the Microsoft Download Center in a lightweight .zip file that contains GPO Backups, GPO reports, Excel spreadsheets, WMI filters, and scripts to apply the settings to local policy.
 
 More information about this change can be found on the [Microsoft Security Guidance blog](/archive/blogs/secguide/security-compliance-manager-scm-retired-new-tools-and-procedures).
 
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ Any version of Windows baseline before Windows 10 1703 can still be downloaded u
 
 **What file formats are supported by the new SCT?**
 
-The toolkit supports formats created by the Windows GPO backup feature (.pol, .inf, and .csv). Policy Analyzer saves its data in XML files with a .PolicyRules file extension. LGPO also supports its own LGPO text file format as a text-based analog for the binary registry.pol file format. See the LGPO documentation for more information. Keep in mind that SCM’s .cab files are no longer supported.
+The toolkit supports formats created by the Windows GPO backup feature (.pol, .inf, and .csv). Policy Analyzer saves its data in XML files with a .PolicyRules file extension. LGPO also supports its own LGPO text file format as a text-based analog for the binary registry.pol file format. For more information, see the LGPO documentation. Keep in mind that SCMs' .cab files are no longer supported.
 
 **Does SCT support Desired State Configuration (DSC) file format?**
 
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ No. A potential alternative is Desired State Configuration (DSC), a feature of t
 
 **Does SCT support the creation of Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP)-format policies?**
 
-No. SCM supported only SCAP 1.0, which was not updated as SCAP evolved. The new toolkit likewise does not include SCAP support.
+No. SCM supported only SCAP 1.0, which wasn't updated as SCAP evolved. The new toolkit likewise doesn't include SCAP support.
 
 <br />
 

windows/security/threat-protection/windows-security-configuration-framework/security-compliance-toolkit-10.md

@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ The Security Compliance Toolkit consists of:
     -   GPO to Policy Rules
 
 
-You can [download the tools](https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=55319) along with the baselines for the relevant Windows versions. For more details about security baseline recommendations, see the [Microsoft Security Guidance blog](/archive/blogs/secguide/).
+You can [download the tools](https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=55319) along with the baselines for the relevant Windows versions. For more information about security baseline recommendations, see the [Microsoft Security Guidance blog](/archive/blogs/secguide/).
 
 ## What is the Policy Analyzer tool?
 
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ The Policy Analyzer is a utility for analyzing and comparing sets of Group Polic
 -   Compare GPOs against current local policy and local registry settings
 -   Export results to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet
 
-Policy Analyzer lets you treat a set of GPOs as a single unit. This makes it easy to determine whether particular settings are duplicated across the GPOs or are set to conflicting values. Policy Analyzer also lets you capture a baseline and then compare it to a snapshot taken at a later time to identify changes anywhere across the set. 
+Policy Analyzer lets you treat a set of GPOs as a single unit. This treatment makes it easy to determine whether particular settings are duplicated across the GPOs or are set to conflicting values. Policy Analyzer also lets you capture a baseline and then compare it to a snapshot taken at a later time to identify changes anywhere across the set. 
 
 More information on the Policy Analyzer tool can be found on the [Microsoft Security Guidance blog](/archive/blogs/secguide/new-tool-policy-analyzer) or by [downloading the tool](https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=55319).
 
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ More information on the Policy Analyzer tool can be found on the [Microsoft Secu
 
 LGPO.exe is a command-line utility that is designed to help automate management of Local Group Policy. 
 Using local policy gives administrators a simple way to verify the effects of Group Policy settings, and is also useful for managing non-domain-joined systems. 
-LGPO.exe can import and apply settings from Registry Policy (Registry.pol) files, security templates, Advanced Auditing backup files, as well as from formatted “LGPO text” files. 
+LGPO.exe can import and apply settings from Registry Policy (Registry.pol) files, security templates, Advanced Auditing backup files, and from formatted “LGPO text” files. 
 It can export local policy to a GPO backup. 
 It can export the contents of a Registry Policy file to the “LGPO text” format that can then be edited, and can build a Registry Policy file from an LGPO text file.
 

windows/security/threat-protection/windows-security-configuration-framework/windows-security-baselines.md

@@ -22,13 +22,13 @@ Microsoft is dedicated to providing its customers with secure operating systems,
 
 Even though Windows and Windows Server are designed to be secure out-of-the-box, many organizations still want more granular control over their security configurations. To navigate the large number of controls, organizations need guidance on configuring various security features. Microsoft provides this guidance in the form of security baselines.
 
-We recommend that you implement an industry-standard configuration that is broadly known and well-tested, such as Microsoft security baselines, as opposed to creating a baseline yourself. This helps increase flexibility and reduce costs. 
+We recommend that you implement an industry-standard configuration that is broadly known and well-tested, such as Microsoft security baselines, as opposed to creating a baseline yourself. This industry-standard configuration helps increase flexibility and reduce costs. 
 
-Here is a good blog about [Sticking with Well-Known and Proven Solutions](/archive/blogs/fdcc/sticking-with-well-known-and-proven-solutions).
+Here's a good blog about [Sticking with Well-Known and Proven Solutions](/archive/blogs/fdcc/sticking-with-well-known-and-proven-solutions).
 
 ## What are security baselines? 
 
-Every organization faces security threats. However, the types of security threats that are of most concern to one organization can be completely different from another organization. For example, an e-commerce company may focus on protecting its Internet-facing web apps, while a hospital may focus on protecting confidential patient information. The one thing that all organizations have in common is a need to keep their apps and devices secure. These devices must be compliant with the security standards (or security baselines) defined by the organization. 
+Every organization faces security threats. However, the types of security threats that are of most concern to one organization can be different from another organization. For example, an e-commerce company may focus on protecting its Internet-facing web apps, while a hospital may focus on protecting confidential patient information. The one thing that all organizations have in common is a need to keep their apps and devices secure. These devices must be compliant with the security standards (or security baselines) defined by the organization. 
 
 A security baseline is a group of Microsoft-recommended configuration settings that explains their security impact. These settings are based on feedback from Microsoft security engineering teams, product groups, partners, and customers. 
 
@@ -36,17 +36,17 @@ A security baseline is a group of Microsoft-recommended configuration settings t
 
 Security baselines are an essential benefit to customers because they bring together expert knowledge from Microsoft, partners, and customers. 
 
-For example, there are over 3,000 Group Policy settings for Windows 10, which does not include over 1,800 Internet Explorer 11 settings. Of these 4,800 settings, only some are security-related. Although Microsoft provides extensive guidance on different security features, exploring each one can take a long time. You would have to determine the security impact of each setting on your own. Then, you would still need to determine  the appropriate value for each setting. 
+For example, there are over 3,000 Group Policy settings for Windows 10, which doesn't include over 1,800 Internet Explorer 11 settings. Of these 4,800 settings, only some are security-related. Although Microsoft provides extensive guidance on different security features, exploring each one can take a long time. You would have to determine the security impact of each setting on your own. Then, you would still need to determine  the appropriate value for each setting. 
 
 In modern organizations, the security threat landscape is constantly evolving, and IT pros and policy-makers must keep up with security threats and make required changes to security settings to help mitigate these threats. To enable faster deployments and make managing Microsoft products easier, Microsoft provides customers with security baselines that are available in consumable formats, such as Group Policy Objects Backups.
 
 ## Baseline principles
 Our recommendations follow a streamlined and efficient approach to baseline definitions. The foundation of that approach is essentially:
--   The baselines are designed for well-managed, security-conscious organizations in which standard end users do not have administrative rights.
--   A baseline enforces a setting only if it mitigates a contemporary security threat and does not cause operational issues that are worse than the risks they mitigate.
--   A baseline enforces a default only if it is otherwise likely to be set to an insecure state by an authorized user:
+-   The baselines are designed for well-managed, security-conscious organizations in which standard end users don't have administrative rights.
+-   A baseline enforces a setting only if it mitigates a contemporary security threat and doesn't cause operational issues that are worse than the risks they mitigate.
+-   A baseline enforces a default only if it's otherwise likely to be set to an insecure state by an authorized user:
     -   If a non-administrator can set an insecure state, enforce the default.
-    -   If setting an insecure state requires administrative rights, enforce the default only if it is likely that a misinformed administrator will otherwise choose poorly.
+    -   If setting an insecure state requires administrative rights, enforce the default only if it's likely that a misinformed administrator will otherwise choose poorly.
 
 ## How can you use security baselines? 
 
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ There are several ways to get and use security baselines:
 
 1. You can download the security baselines from the [Microsoft Download Center](https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=55319). This download page is for the Security Compliance Toolkit (SCT), which comprises tools that can assist admins in managing  baselines in addition to the security baselines. The security baselines are included in the [Security Compliance Toolkit (SCT)](security-compliance-toolkit-10.md), which can be downloaded from the Microsoft Download Center. The SCT also includes tools to help admins manage the security baselines. You can also [Get Support for the security baselines](get-support-for-security-baselines.md) 
 
-2. [MDM (Mobile Device Management) security baselines](/windows/client-management/mdm/#mdm-security-baseline) function like the Microsoft group policy-based security baselines and can easily integrate this into an existing MDM management tool. 
+2. [MDM (Mobile Device Management) security baselines](/windows/client-management/mdm/#mdm-security-baseline) function like the Microsoft group policy-based security baselines and can easily integrate these baselines into an existing MDM management tool. 
 
 3. MDM Security baselines can easily be configures in Microsoft Endpoint Manager on devices that run Windows 10 and 11. The following article provides the detail steps: [Windows MDM (Mobile Device Management) baselines](/mem/intune/protect/security-baseline-settings-mdm-all).