Microsoft is quietly building Sysmon into Windows 11, and power users should be paying attention

Microsoft is integrating Sysmon, the popular Sysinternals security monitoring tool, directly into Windows 11 as of the March 2026 update. Previously requiring manual installation, Sysmon now ships with Windows Home, Pro, and Enterprise editions and can be enabled via Optional Features. It logs detailed system events — process creation, network connections, file changes — filling the gap left by Windows Event Viewer's limited native logging. Users can configure it with XML config files, including community configs like SwiftOnSecurity's. Microsoft also teased upcoming AI-powered local threat detection built on Sysmon's logs, though the author is skeptical given Microsoft's AI track record. Existing standalone Sysmon installs must be removed before switching to the built-in version.