Windows JSON

The Windows JSON app provides insight into your Windows system's operation and events so that you can better manage and maintain your environment. The Windows JSON app is based on the JSON Windows event log format and consists of predefined searches and dashboards that provide visibility into your environment for real-time analysis of overall usage of Security Status, System Activity, Updates, User Activity, and Applications.

note

You may also be interested in the Sumo Logic App for Windows Cloud Security Monitoring and Analytics.

Log types

The Windows JSON app assumes events are coming from Windows Event Log Sources in JSON format. It does not work with third party logs.

Standard Windows event channels include:

• Security
• System
• Application

Custom event channels, such as PowerShell or Internet Explorer are also supported.

Sample log message

{
	"TimeCreated":"2020-10-12T07:31:14+000039800Z",
	"EventID":"1102",
	"Task":104,
	"Correlation":"",
	"Keywords":"Audit Success",
	"Channel":"Security",
	"Opcode":"Info",
	"Security":"",
	"Provider":{
		"Guid":"{fc65ddd8-d6ef-4962-83d5-6e5cfe9ce148}",
		"Name":"Microsoft-Windows-Eventlog"
	},
	"EventRecordID":101802,
	"Execution":{
		"ThreadID":2896,
		"ProcessID":908
	},
	"Version":0,
	"Computer":"WIN-6D5CO5AB123",
	"Level":"Informational",
	"EventData":{
	},
	"UserData":{
		"LogFileCleared":{
			"xmlns":"http://sz2016rose.ddns.net/win/2004/08/windows/eventlog",
			"SubjectUserName":"Administrator",
			"SubjectDomainName":"WIN-6D5CO5AB123",
			"SubjectLogonId":"0x1971888",
			"SubjectUserSid":"S-1-5-21-2020-10-12T07:31:14-203418232-2020-10-12T07:31:14-500"
		}
	},
	"Message":"The audit log was cleared.\r\nSubject:\r\n\tSecurity ID:\tWIN-6D5CO5AB123\\Administrator\r\n\tAccount Name:\tAdministrator\r\n\tDomain Name:\tWIN-6D5CO5AB123\r\n\tLogon ID:\t0x1971888"
}

Sample queries

The sample query is from the Recent Policy Changes panel from Windows - Overview dashboard.

_sourceCategory=Labs/windows-jsonformat ( "Audit Policy Change" or "System audit policy was changed" or *policy*change* or "Policy Change" or 4902 or 4904 or 4905 or 4906 or 4907 or 4912 or 4715 or 4719 or 4739)
| json "EventID", "Computer", "Message" as event_id, host, msg_summary nodrop
| parse regex field = msg_summary "(?<msg_summary>.*\.*)"
| where (event_id in ("4902", "4904", "4905", "4906", "4907", "4912", "4715", "4719", "4739") or msg_summary matches "System audit policy was changed*") and host matches "*"
| count by msg_summary | sort by _count, msg_summary asc

Collecting logs for the Windows JSON app

This section provides instructions on configuring log collection for the Windows JSON App so that logs are collected from the Microsoft Windows Event Log and ingested into Sumo Logic.

Configure a Collector and Source

To configure a collector and source, do the following:

1. Configure an Installed Windows collector through the user interface or from the command line.
2. Configure either a local or remote Windows Event Log source. To configure a Windows Event Log source set the following:

• Event Format. Select Collect using JSON format. Events are formatted into JSON that is designed to work with Sumo Logic features, making it easier for you to reference your data.
  
• Event Collection Level. When JSON format is selected you have to select Complete Message from the dropdown. Complete Message will ingest the entire event content, along with metadata.
  

For more information on local or remote Windows Event Log Source configuration, refer to Local Windows Event Log Source and Remote Windows Event Log Source.

Installing the Windows JSON app

To install the app, do the following:

1. Select App Catalog.
2. In the 🔎 Search Apps field, run a search for your desired app, then select it.
3. Click Install App.
   note

   Sometimes this button says Add Integration.

4. Click Next in the Setup Data section.
5. In the Configure section of your respective app, complete the following fields.
   1. Key. Select either of these options for the data source.
      • Choose Source Category and select a source category from the list for Default Value.
      • Choose Custom, and enter a custom metadata field. Insert its value in Default Value.
6. Click Next. You will be redirected to the Preview & Done section.

Post-installation

Once your app is installed, it will appear in your Installed Apps folder, and dashboard panels will start to fill automatically.

Each panel slowly fills with data matching the time range query and received since the panel was created. Results will not immediately be available, but will update with full graphs and charts over time.

Viewing Windows JSON dashboards​

All dashboards have a set of filters that you can apply to the entire dashboard. Use these filters to drill down and examine the data to a granular level.

• You can change the time range for a dashboard or panel by selecting a predefined interval from a drop-down list, choosing a recently used time range, or specifying custom dates and times. Learn more.
• You can use template variables to drill down and examine the data on a granular level. For more information, see Filtering Dashboards with Template Variables.
• Most Next-Gen apps allow you to provide the scope at the installation time and are comprised of a key (_sourceCategory by default) and a default value for this key. Based on your input, the app dashboards will be parameterized with a dashboard variable, allowing you to change the dataset queried by all panels. This eliminates the need to create multiple copies of the same dashboard with different queries.

Overview

The Windows - Overview dashboard provides insights into fatal or warning messages, policy changes, system restarts, and changes to administrative groups.

Use this dashboard to:

• Monitor systems experiencing fatal errors, warnings, and system restarts.
• Monitor services installed on the systems.
• Monitor policy changes performed on the system.
• Monitor the number of changes performed on the Administrative groups.

Default

The Windows - Default dashboard provides information about the start and stop operations for Windows services, Windows events, operations events, and Errors and Warnings.

Use this dashboard to:

• Monitor services being stopped, started on the system.
• Monitor event types (channels) collected from the system.
• Monitor Log Level (error, warning) trend on the systems.
• Monitor operations performed on the system like restarts, user creation, group creation, and firewall changes.

Login Status

The Windows - Login Status dashboard provides information about successful and failed logins, successful Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) reconnects, and failed login outliers.

Use this dashboard to:

• Monitor Successful and Failed logins by the user and track their locations with successful and failed login attempts.
• Monitor RDP (Remote Desktop) reconnect events.
• Track if there are failed login outliers to identify mischievous login activities.

Event Errors

The Windows - Event Errors dashboards provide insights into error keyword trends and outliers.

Use this dashboard to:

• Monitor various errors in the systems.
• Monitor error trends and outliers to ensure they are within acceptable limits to decide the next step.

Application

The Windows - Application dashboard provides detailed information about install, uninstall, and event trends.

Use this dashboard to:

• Monitor Install and uninstall of applications performed on the system.
• Monitor log levels (error, warning, information) through trends and quick snapshots.
• Monitor various application-specific events happening through recent messages.

Upgrade/Downgrade the Windows JSON app (Optional)

To update the app, do the following:

1. Select App Catalog.
2. In the Search Apps field, search for and then select your app.
   Optionally, you can identify apps that can be upgraded in the Upgrade available section.
3. To upgrade the app, select Upgrade from the Manage dropdown.
   1. If the upgrade does not have any configuration or property changes, you will be redirected to the Preview & Done section.
   2. If the upgrade has any configuration or property changes, you will be redirected to Setup Data page.
      1. In the Configure section of your respective app, complete the following fields.
         • Key. Select either of these options for the data source.
           • Choose Source Category and select a source category from the list for Default Value.
           • Choose Custom and enter a custom metadata field. Insert its value in Default Value.
      2. Click Next. You will be redirected to the Preview & Done section.

Post-update

Your upgraded app will be installed in the Installed Apps folder, and dashboard panels will start to fill automatically.

note

See our Release Notes changelog for new updates in the app.

To revert the app to a previous version, do the following:

1. Select App Catalog.
2. In the Search Apps field, search for and then select your app.
3. To version down the app, select Revert to < previous version of your app > from the Manage dropdown.

Uninstalling the Windows JSON app (Optional)

To uninstall the app, do the following:

1. Select App Catalog.
2. In the 🔎 Search Apps field, run a search for your desired app, then select it.
3. Click Uninstall.