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Creating a Group Policy Central Store

One of the issues that sometimes made managing group policies difficult in Windows XP and in Windows Server 2003 was the non centralized nature of the group policy template files. For example, Microsoft offers downloadable templates that allow you to manage Microsoft Office via group policy. Even so, these templates are not automatically available from…

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How to Enable Internet Explorer 11 Enterprise Mode

Russell Smith explains the difference between Internet Explorer Compatibility View and Enterprise Mode, and provides steps on setting up Enterprise Mode using Group Policy.

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Back Up and Restore Group Policy Objects Using PowerShell

Russell Smith shows us how to easily back up and restore Group Policy Objects with the help of PowerShell.

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Windows

Using GPUpdate to Manage Group Policy

Last Update: Apr 28, 2023

With GPUpdate, administrators can update Group Policy settings from a central location and set configuration settings for computers in an Active Directory domain. In this guide, I’ll show you how to use GPUpdate to refresh local and Active Directory–based Group Policy settings. I can’t tell you (accurately) how many times I have typed ‘gpupdate /force‘…

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Setting up a Logon Script through GPO in Windows Server 2008

As written in the first part of this set of articles, there are two ways to assign Logon scripts. The first is done on the Profile tab of the user properties dialog in the Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC). The second is done via Group Policy Objects (GPO). This article will focus on the…

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Manage Workstations Without Domain Admin Rights

Missing those domain admin rights? Configure a management group on workstations so that IT staff can provide support without full access to Active Directory.

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Configuring IPSec Policies through GPO

How can I configure an IPSec Policy through GPO? As written in previous articles (see related articles at bottom of page), Windows 2000/XP/2003 machines have a built-in IP security mechanism called IPSec (IP Security). IPSec is a protocol that’s designed to protect individual TCP/IP packets traveling across your network by using public key encryption. Besides…

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Administrative Templates in Server 2008 R2 Group Policy Objects (GPO)

In this post, Michael Simmons explains the functions of the Administrative Templates for Group Policy Objects in Windows Server, specifically, Server 2008 R2. These templates allow a huge range of customization of settings for administrators configuring computers and users in Active Directory.

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External Access for Office 365 Groups

Microsoft has put a huge amount of emphasis on Office 365 Groups as the basis for team-based collaboration for its cloud service. Collaboration often requires input from external people and that hasn’t been possible until now. The announcement of external user support for Office 365 Groups is welcome, even if it is restricted in part.

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How to Block Adobe Flash Player Using Active Directory Group Policy

Flash Player is a plug-in for browsers that is installed and maintained separately. Although it came bundled with some browsers. Not only that, but it was responsible for some scary security vulnerabilities over the years. So, developers and IT admins alike were glad to see the back of it.

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