Buzz
Many users are dissatisfied with Microsoft's handling of Windows 10, although not all. The biggest issue is the ability to control Windows 10. While there are some useful tricks that users can try, such as customizing the Taskbar or tweaking the Start Menu, it's not enough. It seems that Microsoft has taken control of too many options.
What is Windows Group Policy?
Group Policy offers an overarching view to manage and configure all types of settings across all computers on a specific Active Directory network. These settings are maintained by the Domain Controller, and individual computers cannot override them.
However, computers outside the Active Directory network can still fine-tune internal settings by using Local Group Policy.
Think of Group Policy as Control Panel, but Group Policy is 100 times more powerful than Control Panel. With Group Policy, you can restrict access to parts of the system, enforce all users to use a specific homepage, and even run specific scripts whenever the computer starts up or shuts down.
In fact, most settings are fine-tuned through the Group Policy Editor rather than the Windows Registry. This is because the Group Policy Editor interface is easier to use for managing all adjustments without needing to manually register them.
The only limitation is that the Group Policy Editor is only available on computers running Windows Professional, Enterprise, and Education editions. If you're using Windows Home, you can upgrade to Windows Pro to use the Group Policy Editor feature.
Accessing Group Policy Editor
Accessing Group Policy Editor is easier than you think, especially if you're using Windows 10. There are multiple ways to access Group Policy Editor, and here's the simplest way to access it:
- First, open the Start Menu.
- Type Edit group policy into the Search box.
- From the search results list, click to open Group Policy Editor.
As mentioned by Mytour above, Group Policy Editor is not available on Windows Home editions. So, if you're using Windows Home, you can upgrade to Windows Pro to use Group Policy Editor or enable Group Policy on Windows 10 Home. Otherwise, you can use third-party Group Policy Editors, which offer system tweaks and basic settings adjustments.
Useful Tricks with Windows Group Policy
Group Policy Editor empowers you to modify thousands of different options and settings. However, this Mytour article focuses solely on 12 useful tricks with Windows Group Policy that ensure safe adjustments. Some other tweaks in the Group Policy Editor could render your system inoperable.
1. Restrict Access to Control Panel
In environments like schools or business networks, restricting access to the Control Panel is essential. Moreover, limiting access to the Control Panel is also a useful solution if you share your computer with multiple users and want to maintain control over everything.
To completely block access to the Control Panel, navigate to the path below and enable the options:
User Configuration => Administrative Templates => Control Panel => Prohibit access to Control Panel and PC Settings
However, if you want to restrict access to certain sections in the Control Panel, you can utilize one of the following two settings:
User Configuration => Administrative Templates => Control Panel => Hide specified Control Panel items
Or:
User Configuration => Administrative Templates => Control Panel => Show only specified Control Panel Item
Activate the options, and on the screen will appear the Control Panel Applet icon you want to hide or show by using the names provided by Microsoft.
2. Restrict access to Command Prompt
While Command Prompt is undeniably useful, it can also be troublesome for users, such as allowing them to run unwanted commands and bypass other restrictions you've set. Therefore, it's best to disable Command Prompt.
To disable Command Prompt:
User Configuration => Administrative Templates => System => Prevent access to the command prompt
Note that activating the restriction on accessing Command Prompt means that cmd.exe will not run even when executing batch files in .cmd or .bat formats.
3. Block installation of new software
There are various methods to prevent users from installing new software on a computer to ensure they do not install malicious software and to maintain system space.
To block the installation of new software using Group Policy:
Computer Configurations => Administrative Templates => Windows Components => Windows Installer => Turn off Windows Installer
4. Prevent or delay Windows Update
The automatic update feature on Windows is one of the many controversial features. If you find this feature unappealing, you can disable it.
If using Group Policy, you can prevent or delay major updates:
Computer Configuration => Administrative Templates => Windows Components => Windows Update => Defer Upgrades and Updates
Delaying updates is done monthly and weekly. Alternatively, you can check the box next to “Pause Upgrades and Updates” to halt updates until the next major update is available.
Group Policy plays a significant role in managing Windows Update settings, but using Group Policy is not the only way. In fact, there are various methods to disable Windows Update. If desired, you can explore other ways to disable Windows Update online.
5. Prevent Windows Update from forcing restarts
Assuming in this case you enable Windows Update, after the update process, Windows will proceed to restart your computer. Although you can postpone updates to a certain time, eventually Windows Update will still force a system restart.
To prevent Windows Update from forcing restarts:
Computer Configuration => Administrator Templates => Windows Components => Windows Update => Prevent automatic restarts after scheduled updates
Once you enable the setting above, you will need to restart your system or you can only run Command Prompt as an Administrator and execute the command below:
gpupdate /force
The above command forces any changes made to Group Policy to take effect.
6. Disable Automatic Driver Updates
Furthermore, Windows automatically updates drivers without user permission. In theory, the automatic driver update feature helps keep your system up to date with the latest drivers.
However, if you're running custom drivers or the latest version of a specific hardware driver is causing system crashes, this is when the automatic driver update feature becomes most disappointing.
To disable automatic driver updates:
Computer Configuration => Administrative Templates => System => Device Installation => Device Installation Restrictions => Prevent installation of devices that match any of these device IDs
To enable the automatic driver update feature, you'll need to provide the hardware IDs for the devices you don't want to automatically update drivers for. To obtain hardware IDs, you'll need to go through Device Manager.
If you've ever experienced system instability or other issues after updating drivers, you can use the built-in Rollback Driver feature in Windows to address this headache.
7. Disable Access to Removable Storage Devices
Have you ever been careless, picking up a USB drive and plugging it into your computer to see what's on it? Of course, some users do, but it's not the majority.
Sometimes you should be cautious because that USB drive could contain malicious software, harming your system. A USB drive containing malware could compromise your entire network system.
To disable access to removable storage devices:
User Configuration => Administrative Templates => System => Removable Storage Access => Removable Disks: Deny read access
Moreover, you'll also find options to disable other removable storage devices like CD, DVD drives, or WPD devices, and even floppy drives, but USB drives are the primary concern.
8. Disable Consumer Experience
The issue at hand is Microsoft collects user data to enhance their software, but recently, the data they gather is being used for other practical benefits.
Consumer Experience provides suggestions and personalized notifications based on the data Microsoft collects. That's why you see ads appearing on the Start Menu.
To disable Consumer Experience:
Computer Configuration => Administrative Templates => Windows Components => Cloud Content => Turn off Microsoft consumer experiences
9. Disable balloon or toast notifications
Desktop notifications are truly useful when they inform users of something important. However, Windows displays almost all notifications, including ones that aren't worth reading, sometimes causing users to lose focus.
Below is how to disable balloon notifications:
User Configuration => Administrative Templates => Start Menu and Taskbar => Turn off all balloon notifications
Starting from Windows 8, most notifications on the system tray have been switched to toast notifications, so you can turn off these notifications:
User Configuration => Administrative Templates => Start Menu and Taskbar => Notifications => Turn off toast notifications
10. Disable and Hide OneDrive
OneDrive is deeply integrated into the operating system, and there's no way to disable OneDrive except through Group Policy or Registry Editor.
To disable OneDrive, you activate:
Computer Configuration => Administrative Templates => Windows Components => OneDrive => Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage
The above operation will remove the ability to access OneDrive from any location on the system and delete the OneDrive shortcut in the File Explorer sidebar.
11. Turn off Windows Defender
On Windows 10 Home, the only way to turn off Windows Defender is to install third-party security software. On Windows 10 editions supporting Group Policy, users can turn off Windows Defender without installing any third-party software.
To turn off Windows Defender:
Computer Configuration => Administrative Templates => Windows Components => Windows Defender => Turn off Windows Defender
Mytour recommends users to utilize free security software to enhance protection against malware, viruses, and more. Alternatively, install a malware scanner to scan your computer.
12. Run Logon/Startup/Shutdown Script
This final trick is a bit more advanced and may not be useful unless you're familiar with batch files and PowerShell scripting. You can automate running Logon/Startup/Shutdown scripts.
To configure startup/shutdown scripts:
Computer Configuration => Windows Settings => Scripts (Startup/Shutdown)
To configure logon/logoff scripts:
User Configuration => Windows Settings => Scripts (Logon/Logoff)
Performing the above allows you to select script files and provide their parameters, so you can do whatever you want. Of course, you can assign multiple scripts for each trigger event.
Note that this is not like launching a specific program on system startup.
Regain Control of Your Windows PC
If you want to regain control of your Windows 10 PC, you can access and utilize 12 useful tricks with Windows Group Policy and many more. Isn't that reason enough to upgrade and use Windows 10 Pro?
Alternatively, you can manage your computer through Control Panel, including controlling various settings and exploring hidden features of Windows 10.
If you make mistakes that cause the system to not function as desired, you can reset Windows Group Policy to restore Group Policy customization to its default state.
Is Windows Group Policy truly beneficial for you? With 12 useful tricks with Windows Group Policy, you're sure to be satisfied with this lesser-known tool available on Windows.
