Windows 8 machine account lockout policy
The machine account lockout threshold setting is a new security policy found only on Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 machines. This new security setting determines the number of failed logon attempts by users before locking down the machine. A locked out machine can only be recovered by providing the BitLocker recovery key at the console. A BitLocker recovery key is a special key that you can create when you turn on BitLocker Drive Encryption for the first time on each drive that you encrypt.
Categories: Security, Windows 8 Tags: BitLocker, gpedit, gpedit.msc, Group Policy, Local Group Policy
Block Microsoft accounts on Windows 8
A new policy setting on Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 allows you to disable users from adding new Microsoft accounts on your computer.
Categories: Security, Windows 8 Tags: account, block, gpedit, gpedit.msc, Group Policy, Microsoft account
Playing with Processing: Group Policy Guide for Link Manipulation
Order of Processing
LSDOU: Local, Site, Organizational Unit (OU). That is the order in which Group Policy applies. All local GPOs are applied first; this is followed by any applicable ones linked to a site. Next, GPOs linked at the domain are applied. Finally, GPOs linked to each OU are processed. These GPOs are applied in a top down approach. Higher OUs or levels such as a site or domain are applied first. Let’s look at a sample environment.
Categories: Management, Troubleshooting Tags: Block Inheritance, domain, Enforced, GPO, Group Policy, Inheritance, link, LSDOU, OU
10 Ways to Troubleshoot Group Policy
Group Policy is a solid tool and is very stable. Microsoft has made constant improvements to it since Windows 2000. It allows for the configuration and deployment of pretty much anything in your Active Directory environment. From deploying software to setting the default printer, it works. But when it doesn’t, Microsoft has provided great guidelines and tools in order to troubleshoot.
Categories: Management, Security Tags: Active Directory, AD, filter, GPO, Group Policy, OU, WMI
Understanding the Processing Order for GPSI
I have always wondered how Group Policy Software Installation knows what MSIs to install when. Looking over Experts-Exchange and several forums/blogs, most made it out to be like magic.
Today, I stumbled across this article: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/cc817587.aspx
Categories: Management, Performance, Troubleshooting Tags: Group Policy, GUID, MSI, registry
Your Hidden Windows 7 Trick (that also applies for Windows 8)
For all of you StarCraft players, can you still play a game without using hotkeys? Probably so but you would most likely get beat and would most certainly be slower. Hotkeys simply let you get to where you want to go faster! Wouldn’t it be awesome to have your own personal hotkeys in Windows 7?
Categories: Tweaks, Windows 8 Tags: GPO, Group Policy, StarCraft
Force Enhanced Protected Mode in Internet Explorer 10
The Group Policy ‘Turn on Enhanced Protected Mode’ for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 10 allows you to enforce additional protection against malicious websites by using 64-bit processes on 64-bit versions of Windows. In addition, IE 10 on Windows 8 also limits the locations Internet Explorer can read from in the registry and the file system when Enhanced Protected Mode is enabled.
Categories: Security Tags: gpedit, gpedit.msc, Group Policy, IE 10, Internet Explorer, Protected Mode, Vista
