The logs you’ll wish you had configured if (when) you are breached… 

This guide outlines five essential logging sources—Windows Event Logs, Sysmon, VPN, AV/EDR, and application logs—and provides practical recommendations on sizing, retention, archiving, monitoring, and SIEM integration to strengthen incident response and forensic visibility. It emphasizes enabling detailed, long-retention logs (especially Security.evtx/System.evtx), deploying Sysmon for granular process/network telemetry, tracking VPN access patterns, actively monitoring AV/EDR events, and recording critical application actions, while advocating centralized logging or forwarding to avoid data loss during investigations.