MICROSOFT PROVIDES MORE EFFECTIVE security controls and countermeasures with each new Windows release. This protects computers from new and improved methods of attacks. It can be difficult and confusing to keep track of all the individual security rules as the number of new features continues to grow. Windows provides administrators with the ability to configure many security rules in a central location. The Group Policy feature of Windows organizes collections of security rules that control different aspects of how Windows operates. To make administration easier, collections of Group Policy settings can be stored in named objects called Group Policy Objects (GPOs). GPOs can be associated with one or more users and across multiple computers to enforce settings without having to edit each user’s individual settings.

In this chapter, you’ll learn about Group Policy and GPOs and how to maintain them in Windows. You’ll learn how to use GPOs to control what your users can and cannot do. You’ll also learn how to do more than just change settings—you’ll learn how to design GPOs that satisfy your organization’s security policy.