Microsoft Group Policy Bonanza

While researching my last post Blocking IE 8 "InPrivate" Mode, I was doing some research into Group Policy.

There are a lot of settings and tweaks that can be made to a Windows system via Group Policy.

In fact, if you don't know what you are looking for, trying to match Group Policy settings to their corresponding registry-key locations can be very overwhelming.

Fortunately, I found that Microsoft provides this information in highly organized and searchable format: Excel files free for download!

• Download details: Group Policy Settings Reference - Supported Operating Systems: Windows 2000; Windows Server 2003; Windows XP

Overview

This spreadsheet lists Group Policy settings described in Administrative Template (.adm) files and Security Settings that shipped with Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. This includes all Administrative Template policy settings supported on the following operating systems: Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003, Windows XP Professional with SP2 or earlier service packs, and Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or earlier service packs. In addition, this spreadsheet includes the following categories of security policy settings: Account Policies (Password Policy, Account Lockout Policy, and Kerberos Policy), Local Policies (Audit Policy, User Rights Assignment, and Security Options), Event Log, Restricted Groups, System Services, Registry, and File System policy settings. Note: This does not include security settings that exist outside of the Security Settings extension (scecli.dll), such as Wireless Network extension, Public Key Policies, or Software Restriction Policies.

The spreadsheet includes separate worksheets for each of the .adm files and the security policy settings that shipped in Windows XP SP2 , a consolidated worksheet for easy searching, and an Update History worksheet that lists policy settings that have been added since the Windows Server 2003 operating systems were released. Using column filters, you can easily filter the information in the spreadsheet by operating system, component, or machine/user configuration. You can also search for information by using text or keywords.

• Download details: Group Policy Settings Reference Windows Vista - Supported Operating Systems: Windows 2000; Windows Server 2003; Windows Vista; Windows XP

Overview

This spreadsheet lists the policy settings for computer and user configurations included in the administrative template files (admx/adml) delivered with Windows Vista (RTM build 6000). The policy settings included in this spreadsheet cover Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Professional, and Windows 2000. These files are used to expose policy settings when you edit Group Policy objects (GPOs) using Group Policy Object Editor (also known as GPEdit).

• Download details: Group Policy Settings Reference for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista SP1 - Supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2003; Windows Server 2008; Windows Vista

Overview

This spreadsheet lists the policy settings for computer and user configurations included in the Administrative template files (.admx/.adml) delivered with Windows Server 2008 Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1). The policy settings included in this spreadsheet cover Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista SP1, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Professional, and Windows 2000. You can configure these policy settings when you edit Group Policy objects (GPOs).
In addition, this spreadsheet includes the following categories of security policy settings:

• Account Policies (Password Policy, Account Lockout Policy, and Kerberos Policy)
• Local Policies (Audit Policy, User Rights Assignment, and Security Options)
• Event Log
• Restricted Groups
• System Services
• Registry
• File System policy settings.

Note: This does not include security settings that exist outside of the Security Settings extension (scecli.dll), such as Wireless Network extension, Public Key Policies, or Software Restriction Policies.

Notice that second version now includes Vista, and the third version included Vista SP1.

I still haven't seen if any include additional policies as added in XP Service Pack 3.  So while most of the settings are documented, I suspect more (like the IE 8 "InPrivate" blocking mode) will not be found here, yet.

Just download the particular one you want and have fun!

Microsoft Related Materials

1. Group Policy Resources on TechNet
2. Community Resources for Windows Server
3. Introducing the Group Policy Management Console
4. Group Policy ADM Files
5. Group Policy Settings Reference
6. Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows Vista
7. Group Policy Inventory (GPInventory.exe)
8. ADMX Migrator

--Claus