Windows System Group Policy application Full introduction (middle) _windowsxp

Four, "desktop" settings

Windows desktops, like our desks, need to be sorted and cleaned frequently, and Group Policy is like our personal secretary, making desktop management a breeze. Let's take a look at a few practical configuration examples:

Location: "Group Policy console → user Configuration → admin templates → desktop"

1. Hide the desktop's system icon (Windows 2000/xp/2003)

Although the ability to hide the system icons on the desktop can be achieved by modifying the registry, it is more cumbersome and risky. The method of Group Policy configuration can achieve this goal conveniently and quickly.

For example, to hide the Network Places and Internet Explorer icons on your desktop, you can turn on the "Hide My Network Neighborhood icon on the desktop" and "Hide Internet Explorer icons on the desktop" Two policy options in the right-hand pane (Figure 5) If you hide all the icons on your desktop, you can only turn on the hide and disable all items on the desktop; the My computer and My Documents icons will disappear from your desktop when you enable the delete My Documents icon on the desktop and delete My Computer icon on the desktop two options are turned on. " Also, if you want the Recycle Bin icon to disappear, only enable the Remove Recycle Bin from desktop policy entry.

Figure 5

2. Do not save desktop settings when exiting (Windows 2000/xp/2003)

This policy prevents users from saving certain changes to the desktop. If you enable this policy, users can still make changes to the desktop, but some changes, such as the location of the icon, the location and size of the taskbar, cannot be saved after the user logs off, but the shortcuts on the taskbar can always be saved.

In the right pane, the "Do not save settings when exiting" policy option is enabled.

3. Masking the Desktop Cleanup Wizard feature (Windows xp/2003)

The Desktop Cleanup Wizard automatically runs on the user's computer every 60 days to clear desktop icons that users don't use or never use. If you enable this policy setting, you can block the Clean Desktop Wizard, and if you disable or do not configure this setting, the Desktop Cleanup Wizard runs every 60 days, according to the default settings.

Open the Remove Cleanup Desktop Wizard in the right pane and set policy options as needed.

4. Enable/disable Active Desktop (Windows 2000/xp/2003)

Active Desktop is an advanced feature with Windows 98 (and later) or a system with IE 4.0 installed, with the greatest feature being the ability to set up wallpaper in various picture formats, or even the Web page as a wallpaper. But for security and performance reasons, there are times when we need to disable this feature (and prevent users from enabling it), which can be easily achieved through policy settings. How to: Open "Disable Active Desktop" in the right pane and enable this policy.

Tip: The "Disable active Desktop" setting is ignored if both the Enable active Desktop setting and the "Disable active Desktop" setting are enabled. If the Disable active Desktop and Web view setting (in User Configuration → Administrative Templates →windows component →windows Explorer) is enabled, Active Desktop is disabled and both policies are ignored.

The above describes several Group Policy configuration items on the desktop, and there are several other Group Policy configuration items under Group Policy console → user Configuration → admin templates → desktop, which can be configured as needed, and no longer repeat here.

V. Personalize the taskbar and start menus

On the right side of the window shown in Figure 6, the Group Policy configuration items for the taskbar and Start menu are displayed. Let's take a look at the specific example:

Figure 6

Location: "Group Policy console → user Configuration → admin templates → taskbar and Start Menu"

1. Lose weight to the Start menu (Windows 2000/xp/2003)

If you feel that Windows Start menu is too bloated, you can remove unwanted menu items from the Start menu. In the right pane of Group Policy, multiple Group Policy configuration items are provided such as remove user folders from Start menu, delete access and links to Windows Update, remove public programs from Start menu, delete My Documents icon from Start menu. You can just turn on the policy for the menu item that you don't want.

2. Protect the Taskbar and start menus (Windows 2000/xp/2003)

If you don't want to let others change the taskbar and Start menu settings, you can only enable the "Prevent changes" taskbar and Start Menu settings in the right pane of the Group Policy console and the "Prevent access to the context menu of the taskbar" two policy items. This way, when you right-click the taskbar and click Properties, an error message appears (Figure 7), and the pop-up menu is hidden when you right-click the taskbar and the items on the taskbar, such as the Start button, the clock, and the taskbar button.

Figure 7

3. Disable logoff and shutdown (Windows 2000/xp/2003)

When the computer starts, if you do not want this user to be "shut down" or "Log Off" again, enable the two policies on the Remove from Start menu and remove and block access shutdown commands in the right pane of the Group Policy console.

This setting removes the Shutdown option from the Start menu and disables the Windows Task Manager dialog Box  Press Ctrl+alt+del to show the Shutdown option in this dialog box. Also note that this setting prevents users from shutting down with the Windows interface, but does not prevent users from using other Third-party utility programs to shut down Windows.

Tip: Delete the show logoff item from the Start menu option if you have enabled the Remove Logoff on the Start menu. Users cannot restore the logout < username > Item to the Start menu (only by manually modifying the registry's method). This setting affects only the Start menu, and it does not affect the logout item on the Windows Task Manager dialog box (so you need to enable both the delete and block access shutdown commands) without preventing users from logging off in other ways.

4. Protect personal document privacy with Group Policy (Windows 2000/xp/2003)

Windows has an advanced intelligence feature that allows you to record files that you have visited. Although this feature makes it easy for users to open the file again, you sometimes need to block this feature for security and performance reasons, such as not wanting to know which pages you have browsed and which files have been opened. With Group Policy, you can turn on the two policy in the right pane, "Do not keep records of recently opened documents" and "Clear records of recently opened documents when exiting".

Also note that if you enable this policy setting but do not enable the Remove Document menu from Start Menu policy setting, the document menu also appears on the Start menu, but the menu is an empty menu. If you enable this policy setting, and then disable it and set it to Not configured, the document shortcuts saved before the policy setting is enabled are returned to the document menu and the application's File menu.