Microsoft FQC00129, GLC00182, GLC01878 Group Policy Preferences, Internet Explorer 8 Group Policy

Group Policy Preferences

Group Policy Preferences extend the reach of what Group Policy can manage and how settings are applied. With Group Policy Preferences, system administrators can manage Windows components that are not Group Policy-aware, such as mapped network drives and desktop shortcuts. Windows 7 contains new Group Policy Preferences for flexible power management and more advanced task scheduling. You can also use Group Policy Preferences to deploy registry settings for managing applications. System administrators can even create custom Group Policy Preferences extensions.

Unlike traditional Group Policy settings, Group Policy Preferences are not enforced. Rather, they are treated as defaults that users can change. Preferences can be configured to reapply preferred settings every time that standard Group Policies are applied (if the user has made a change), or to use the preferred setting as a baseline configuration that the user can permanently change. This gives you the flexibility to strike an optimal balance between control and user productivity. Group Policy Preferences provides additional flexibility by enabling system administrators to configure unique settings for different groups of users or PCs within a single GPO, without requiring WMI filters.

Internet Explorer 8 Group Policy

Internet Explorer 8 supports more than 1,300 group policies so that organizations can easily create Internet Explorer configurations. It includes more than 100 new Group Policy settings designed to ease browser deployment, configuration, and customization and supports many features, such as Compatibil- ity View, Accelerators, and InPrivate Browsing Mode. For example, you can turn off InPrivate Browsing by enabling the Turn Off InPrivate Group Policy. Group Policy also supports many Internet Explorer security features such as SmartScreen filter, Data URI, and Encryption support to help ensure that people will be safe in the corporate environment.

System administrators can easily change settings for Internet Explorer 8 after it has been deployed. They can use the Internet Explorer Administrator Kit to create a configuration-only package with which they can update security settings, apply custom branding, and change other settings for existing Inter- net Explorer 8 deployments. System administrators also can use Group Policy to centrally change and manage machine and user settings.

Starter Group Policy Objects

Starter GPOs in Windows 7 are collections of preconfigured administrative templates that you can use as standard baseline configurations to create a live GPO. These templates encapsulate Microsoft best practices, containing recommended policy settings and values for key enterprise scenarios. You can also create and share you own Starter GPOs based on internal or industry regulatory requirements.

URL-based Quality of Service

System administrators today prioritize network traffic based on application, port number, and IP address. New initiatives such as Software-as-a-Service, however, introduce the need to prioritize network traffic in new ways. Windows 7 provides the ability to implement Quality of Service (QoS) based on URL. URL-based QoS is configurable through Group Policy, giving you the ability to more finely tune your networks.