- Group Policy: A Windows feature to centrally manage users and computers in a domain.
- GPO: A collection of rules/settings applied to users or computers.
- Scope: Applied at Site, Domain, or Organizational Unit (OU) level.
- Types:
- Computer Configuration: Applies to computers (startup, security, updates).
- User Configuration: Applies to users (desktop, restrictions, scripts).
- Processing Order: Local → Site → Domain → OU (LSDOU).
- Enforcement:
- Inheritance can be blocked or enforced.
- Security filtering controls who receives the GPO.
- Common Uses:
- Password policies
- Software installation
- Desktop restrictions
- Security hardening
- Tools:
- Group Policy Management Console (gpmc.msc)
- Resultant Set of Policy (rsop.msc)