Unauthenticated Testing This tests the hosts in scope for any identified vulnerabilities in software versions or configuration issues on exposed services. It does not login to the system, therefore does not run more detailed checks that would only be possible when using local administrative user credentials. Authenticated Testing This tests the hosts in scope for any identified vulnerabilities in software versions or configuration issues, by logging into the host as an administrative user. This performs a much more detailed review and covers patch checking and configuration issues for the unexposed services on the host. If you wished to check all patching levels of systems across your network, an authenticated test would be the best option.