Book Image

Mastering Windows Group Policy

By : Jordan Krause
5 (1)
Book Image

Mastering Windows Group Policy

5 (1)
By: Jordan Krause

Overview of this book

This book begins with a discussion of the core material any administrator needs to know in order to start working with Group Policy. Moving on, we will also walk through the process of building a lab environment to start testing Group Policy today. Next we will explore the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) and start using the powerful features available for us within that interface. Once you are well versed with using GPMC, you will learn to perform and manage the traditional core tasks inside Group Policy. Included in the book are many examples and walk-throughs of the different filtering options available for the application of Group Policy settings, as this is the real power that Group Policy holds within your network. You will also learn how you can use Group Policy to secure your Active Directory environment, and also understand how Group Policy preferences are different than policies, with the help of real-world examples. Finally we will spend some time on maintenance and troubleshooting common Group Policy-related issues so that you, as a directory administrator, will understand the diagnosing process for policy settings. By the end of the book, you will be able to jump right in and use Group Policy to its full potential.
Table of Contents (12 chapters)

User Account Control

Noooo, it's that annoying pop-up screen again!

This little credential prompt seems so annoying, yet it can save your bacon. UAC is an invaluable tool that halts installation processes, or the launching of applications into a mode that has elevated privileges. For example, I tried to open an administrative PowerShell prompt and was presented with the preceding screenshot.

UAC is an in-your-face reminder that something big is about to happen. When an application installer gets launched, you want to make sure it is something you actually intended to install, right? I have witnessed webpages try to launch malicious installers on computers, only to be stopped by UAC. By simply pressing No on this screen, you stop whatever activity was about to happen. There is also plenty of danger in opening up an administrative window, so Windows uses UAC to double-check...