Last Update Nov 17 2003 Well, if you have accidentally locked yourself out of a Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 Server Group Policy, don’t worry, you can easily undo it! I have been using Windows 200x in production environments since 1998 and up until November 2003 never made the obvious […]
If you’ve ever worked in group policy, you know that the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) hasn’t changed very much since it was introduced in Windows 2000 way back in 1999. One critical feature that’s been missing since day one, is the ability to search through a Group Policies to […]
A few days ago we had a client who had some software get reinstalled automatically after they manually uninstalled it. The tech that had originally managed this software has left the company and we are now managing their infrastructure. Naturally the client turned to us and asked if we could […]
Group Policy can get very messy very fast especially in large organizations where there are hundreds of IT administrators and contractors that have created group policy objects over the years. So if you’re looking at a group policy and not understanding how it came into effect you wouldn’t be alone. […]
This video demonstrates how to install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) on Windows Server 2016. We also quickly show the Group Policies required to have your office PC’s use the WSUS server as their source for updates.
| Hardware | Low-end 500 or fewer clients | Typical 500–3,000 clients | High-end 3,000–20,000 clients, or rollup of 30,000 clients | Super high-end 10,000 clients, or rollup of 100,000 clients |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 1 GHz | 1.5 GHz or faster | 3 GHz hyper threaded processor, x64 hardware | 3 GHz hyper threaded dual processor |
| Graphics card | 16 MB hardware accelerated PCI/AGP video card capable of 1-24*86*16bpp | 16 MB hardware accelerated PCI/AGP video card capable of 1-24*86*16bpp | 16 MB hardware accelerated PCI/AGP video card capable of 1-24*86*16bpp | 16 MB hardware accelerated PCI/AGP video card capable of 1-24*86*16bpp |
| RAM | 1 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| Page file | At least 1.5 times physical memory | At least 1.5 times physical memory | At least 1.5 times physical memory | At least 1.5 times physical memory |
| I/O subsystem |
Fast ATA/IDE 100 hard disk or equivalent SCSI drives |
Fast ATA/IDE 100 hard disk or equivalent SCSI drives | Fast ATA/IDE 100 hard disk or equivalent SCSI drives | Fast ATA/IDE 100 hard disk or equivalent SCSI drives |
| Network card | 10 MB | 100 MB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Hard drive—system partition | 1 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Hard drive—content storage | 20 GB | 30 GB | 30 GB | 30 GB |
| Hard drive—SQL Server installation | 2 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB |
To have the PC’s on your network use your new WSUS server you need to make a few simple registry entries which you can easily handle using the following Group Policy:
If you have a Server 2016 Remote Desktop Services infrastructure, you will likely want to lock down the Sessions Hosts. Below are some of the useful Group Policies that we suggest you apply.
Note that Server 2012 and Server 2016 have the option to use something very important for security named USER PROFILE DISKS. A User Profile Disk is a VHDX that is created for each user. That Virtual Hard Disk contains their C:\USERS\ profile and blocks remote users from interacting with the physical disk.
If you want to use USER PROFILE DISKS click HERE for more information. If you don’t want to use USER PROFILE DISKS, you should consider configuring the following GPOs:
USER > POLICIES > SYSTEM > FOLDER REDIRECTION
USER > POLICIES > ADMINISTRATIVE TEMPLATES > WINDOWS COMPONENTS > FILE EXPLORER > HIDE THESE SPECIFIED DRIVES IN MY COMPUTER
USER > POLICIES > ADMINISTRATIVE TEMPLATES > WINDOWS COMPONENTS > FILE EXPLORER > PREVENT ACCESS TO DRIVES FROM MY COMPUTER
Lets get started. Below are the GPO’s we suggest you consider to lock down your RDS Session Hosts:
Macros in Word, Excel and PowerPoint used to be one of the most common attack vectors but they largely died out near 2010. In 2016 they are being used aggressively in Crypto/Ransomware attacks and you may want to disable them. Specifically, they are often sent in email attachments. Word / […]
If you had a PC that was on a corporate network and had Domain Group Policies applied to it, you may still see: SOME SETTINGS ARE CONTROLLED BY YOUR ORGANIZATION This can appear in many places but the most common are Windows Update are Security Settings. When trying to adding a […]
By Ian Matthews – September 13, 2010 BRIEF HISTORY: Under XP there was limited security on print driver installation by restricted users. Under Vista there were serious limitations put on Restricted Users which you could resolve easily via Group Policy. Under Windows 7, the same restriction applied but the security was […]
Prepared by Ian Matthews July 13, 2009, last update Unlike the SBS2000 to SBS2003 upgrade process, the SBS2003 to SBS2008 procedures are clean. The first thing you need is new hardware. NOTE: This process below is offered with no guarantees and we accept no liability.� To keep an otherwise complex […]
This video is a comprehensive tutorial on using Microsoft Azure Backup Service (MABS) to back up virtual and physical machines to the Azure Cloud. It starts by explaining the different backup services available, including Microsoft Azure Backup Server and Microsoft Data Protection Server, and then focuses on setting up MABS. […]
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are powerful tools for driving growth and innovation in the tech industry, but the complexities of IT M&As can present significant challenges. To ensure a seamless integration and get the most value from your deal, implement strategies that address both technical and organizational aspects. Here are […]
If you work in the IT Department with Microsoft Windows technologies, you frequently need to determine details of a Windows Service. To help our Windows technicians we created this list of the top 100 Windows services in use today, along with a bit of detail to help them determine what […]
“Connect Before Logon” is a feature offered by some VPN clients that allows users to establish a VPN connection before logging into their Windows account. This is particularly useful in corporate environments where access to network resources and Group Policy Objects (GPOs) is required at logon. Here’s how it works […]
AI is about making smarter applications that improve user experience and functionality. From automating tedious tasks to enhancing software testing and maintenance, AI is a key player in modern software practices. If you want to learn more about AI, check out this article on how to create generative AI models. […]
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you will be familiar with generative AI and if you’re a tech or a CTO, you should already know that there are a number of privacy issues with generative AI. We have a simple article explaining how to disable Adobe Acrobat AI features […]