Group Policy. Jeremy Moskowitz
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lot of potential operating systems. Okay, okay – perhaps you don’t have all of them. You likely don’t have any more Windows 2000 (or maybe you do, tucked in a back room somewhere, quietly processing something or other).
The point, however, is that Group Policy can apply to all of these systems. Under most circumstances, “old stuff” will work correctly on newer machines. That is, generally, something that could affect, say, an XP machine will also (generally) continue to affect a Windows 10 machine.
With that in mind, here’s an example of what I’m not going to do. I’m not going to show you an example of something in the book, then say something like, “and this example is valid for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 8.1 Update 1, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 10, and Windows Server 2016.”
My head (and yours) will just explode if I do that and you need to read it each time.
So, here’s what I am going to do. You’ll read my discussion about something, then I’ll say something like, “and this example is valid for Windows XP and later.” That would mean that the thing I’m about to show you (for example, a policy setting) should work A-OK for XP and later machines (all the way to Windows 10 and also usually for servers, like Windows Server 2016, too). Similarly, if I say, “and this is valid for Windows Vista and later,” that means you’ll be golden if the target machine is Windows Vista and later (all the way through Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016).
Of course, there are a handful of exceptions: things that only work on one particular operating system in a possibly peculiar way. For instance, there are a handful of Windows Vista–only settings that aren’t valid for Windows 7 and Windows 8. There are Windows 10–specific settings that won’t work on older machines. Again, I’ll strive for clarity regarding the exceptions – but the good news is, those are few and far between.
If you get lost, here’s a quick cheat sheet to help you remember “which machines act alike”:
● Windows 2000 Workstation and Windows Server
● Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP
● Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista
● Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
● Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
● Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2
● Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016
Just to be even more specific, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 10, and Windows Server 2016 are ludicrously close brothers. They look alike, throw the same temper tantrums, and enjoy the same kinds of movies. But they’re not identical. They are, in fact, different, but in most cases, they’re super-duper similar and will react the same way when poked.
For this edition of the book, we decided to make a conscious choice about how to present Group Policy. Most of the walk-throughs, examples, and screen shots in the book will be of Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016.
Since I wrote the last edition of this book, two friends have passed away. Those friends, of course, are Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. It’s impossible to know how much XP is still out there, but my unscientific guess would be that 30 percent of the PCs in the business world are still using XP as I write these words. That’s not a lot, but it’s certainly not a little either.
As far as I’m concerned though, XP and Windows Server 2003 are dead ends. I mean, they really are: Microsoft has stopped supporting them except in extreme circumstances and special handling cases.
But I do want to be super-clear about something: I am also specifically going to note and talk about the differences between the various operating systems. For instance, I’ll definitely be expressing some concepts as originally found in Windows 2000, and also Windows XP and Windows Vista – things that were originally in these operating systems’ behaviors but are absent or changed now.
When explaining Group Policy, I like to explain how Group Policy evolved from Windows 2000 through Windows XP and Vista and now on to Windows 10. I like to talk about the “old-school” stuff sometimes, because I find it helps explain why Windows does some things today that seem, well, odd or confusing. If I explain the older operating systems, for example, Windows 2000 and Windows XP, it’s actually easier to understand modern Windows. But as far as actual examples go in this book, sayonara XP (and Windows Server 2003). When it’s necessary to get a deeper perspective on details of Windows XP, I might refer you to previous editions of this book.
And now, a quick word about Windows Vista.
Yes, friends. Vista happened.
We also cannot deny the existence of Windows Vista and that it actually came and went without anyone caring at all.
That being said, even though Microsoft “didn’t quite get the taste right” with regard to Windows Vista, the individual ingredients continue to be the base of our Windows soup going forward. So, that means Windows 7, 8, and 10 are honestly very minor upgrades from Vista.
And pretty much everything that was once valid for Vista is also valid for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. Therefore, you’ll see me write a lot about, “and this works for Windows Vista and later,” or in some places, like table listings, you’ll see “Valid for Vista+” – meaning that whatever I’m referencing will work on Vista (if you have it), but it will also work on Windows 7, almost always Windows 8, and onward to Windows 10.
A Little about Me, This Book, PolicyPak, and Beyond
Group Policy is a big concept with some big power. This book is intended to help you get a handle on this new power to gain control over your environment and to make your day-to-day administration easier. It’s filled with practical, hands-on examples of Group Policy usage and troubleshooting. It is my hope that you enjoy this book and learn from my experiences so you can successfully deploy Group Policy and manage your desktops to better control your network. I’m honored to have you aboard for the ride, and I hope you get as much out of Group Policy as I do.
I’ve had and continue to have a long history with Group Policy.
I’ve been writing about and speaking about Group Policy in my hands-on workshops for over 10 years.
I’ve been one of about a dozen Group Policy MVPs, as anointed by Microsoft for 12 years.
And, I’ve also founded a company called PolicyPak Software, which extends Group Policy to do more amazing things than what is possible with what is in the box alone. For instance, here are some of the things you can do with the products from PolicyPak:
● Manage just about any third-party application using Group Policy (like Java, Flash, Firefox, Lync [now Skype for Business], OpenOffice, and hundreds more).
● Craft exactly when and how Group Policy Admin Template template settings will be applied to users or computers.
● Keep Group Policy Preferences items working – even when the computer goes offline.
● Learn when a machine is in compliance and out of compliance with what you need it to be.
● Deploy almost all Group Policy directives over the Internet and on to machines that might never otherwise be able to get Group Policy.
So, I’m going to try to walk a fine line here. With your permission, I am going to, from time to time, describe when something from PolicyPak could enhance a situation or solve a problem that cannot be solved out of the box. I’ll show you real examples of how to solve real problems.
And I’m doing it not to sell you something, but if that happens, that’s okay, too. The point, really, is to demonstrate a problem or situation that might not have any other way out of it. So basically, if I didn’t explain that the “PolicyPak possibility” to fix a particular problem existed, you wouldn’t know about it and you’d still always be stuck in a rut.
Meanwhile, as you read this book, it’s natural